January 28th, 2015 Edition

Sharonica Hardin named UCity super

Leaving assistant superintendent position at Ritenour

By Rebecca Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

n “I believe in education equity for all students, regardless of their zip codes.”

– Sharonica Hardin

site visit. The board extended a contract that is expected to be approved at the next board meeting. Her salary will not be disclosed until the hiring is approved. Hardin will assume her duties July 1.

Joylynn Pruitt, who served nine years as superintendent and 16 total years in the district, is retiring at the end of the school year.

“It’s a very humbling experience,” Hardin told The St. Louis American. “There were many great candidates. I am looking forward to working with the

community to make

Jennings

talked with Mi’El

a student at

School, before school on Wednesday, January

and Patricia

accepted a position as superintendent of Topeka (Kansas) Public Schools, effective July 1, so will be leaving Jennings after this semester.

Jennings moves to impeach mayor

Council contracts with attorneys to investigate Yolonda Fountain Henderson

“It’s peaceful,” Jennings Councilman Rodney Epps said at the beginning of the City Council meeting on Monday, January 25. “We haven’t been peaceful in a long time.” The council has been riven by controversy since newly elected Mayor Yolonda Fountain Henderson filed suit against every council member and department head last March, in a foiled bid to assume all

and firing power for the city. The public portion of the meeting on Monday stayed peaceful, but only because council members moved behind closed doors into executive session to take up the meeting’s most controversial piece of business: whether or not to move forward with impeachment proceedings against the mayor. They voted 7-1 to do just that, City Clerk Cheryl Balke confirmed on Tuesday. Councilwoman

Jennings Mayor Yolonda Fountain Henderson presided over a peaceful City Council meeting on Monday, January 25 – until the council voted to contract with attorneys to handle impeachment proceedings against her.

will be retried for murder

Also tried for rape and robbery

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

Reginald Clemons will stand trial again for 1991 murders of Julie Kerry and Robin Kerry, and also faces charges of forcible rape and firstdegree robbery in the Chain of Rocks Bridge case, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer M. Joyce announced on Monday, January 25. The case will remain a death penalty case as originally filed. In a 1993 jury trial, Clemons was convicted of first-degree murder for the deaths of the Kerry sisters. He was charged with rape, and though the rape charges were never tried, they were used

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

Superintendent Tiffany Anderson

Golden,

Jennings Junior High School,

Golden, a student at Jennings Senior High

27. She has

Tiffany leaving Jennings

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

Sharonica Hardin will be the new superintendent for the University City School District beginning July 1.

Jason Flanery’s booking photo

entire

Is Rob Kardashian squatting with Blac Chyna?

Earlier this week news leaked that Rob Kardashian was dating his sister Kylie Jenner’s arch enemy, former stripper Blac Chyna.

Now, according to multiple reports, Chyna and Rob are living together after Khloe Kardashian kicked Rob out of her house for going against the family.

Rob posted images on social media insinuating he and Blac Chyna were a couple –and that she would give birth to the “only next generation of Kardashians.”

Blac Chyna was once a close friend of Kim Kardashian, but her teen sister Kylie was rumored to have been not-so-secretly involved with Tyga, the father of Chyna’s son, while he and Chyna were still a couple.

Since then Blac Chyna has

taken repeated jabs at the Kardashian/ Jenner clan via social media.

Chingy trampled for short-lived Trump endorsement

On Friday St. Louis rapper Chingy took to Twitter on Friday to declare his support of GOP Frontrunner Donald Trump.

“Politics vs society,” he tweeted.

“People should innerstand (sic) that politics is a business jus like the job you work at. I vote for @realDonaldTrump

“YEP” 3.”

some of it on TV,” he continued.

“I’m not familiar with exactly how it’s going down. And that’s another reason why I didn’t know a lot of the negative things he said. Like a lot of people comparing him to Hitler and stuff and a lot of those things, I didn’t know these things. So when I seen the good he said, I was like, Oh that’s cool that Donald Trump be trying to do that.”

Did Ed Hartwell leave a woman at the altar for Keisha Knight-Pulliam?

A social media melee ensued, which compelled the “Right Thurr” rapper to say that his tweets were taken out of context. He then went to YouTube in a followup to that and explained more in length why he actually doesn’t support Trump. “I didn’t know about some of the negative things he had to say about some of the races out here and about the hip-hop community,”

Chingy said in the video titled “I DO NOT endorse Donald Trump”. “I didn’t know a lot of the negative things, I was kind of commenting off reading that article and reading some of the good things that he said, so that’s kind of where my comments came from.”

“Every now and then I see

This week actress Keisha KnightPulliam confirmed rumors of her secret marriage to former football player Ed Hartwell.

Now comes word that Ed was engaged to marry someone else just a few months ago.

In her new podcast “Kandidly Keisha”, she and Hartwell revealed how they sprung their surprise wedding on friends and family, who thought they were coming to their house for a New Year’s party.

engaged to another woman prior to meeting Keisha and crept around with Keisha for weeks before breaking off his engagement. The source claims Knight-Pulliam sold her condo and moved in with Hartwell just two months after meeting him. The source also told Rose that Hartwell has a habit of getting engaged quickly and a reputation as a womanizer.

Fragrance company slaps Jay Z with lawsuit

Rapper and business mogul Jay Z was hit with a multi-million dollar lawsuit by a cologne company who claims he jumped ship on a venture as spokesperson.

Parlux says it signed a deal with Jay in 2013 for their Gold line, but TMZ is reporting that the fragrance company claims he never promoted the scent like he promised. They claim he canceled an appearance on “Good Morning America” and refused to post about it on social media.

Parlux says they were expecting to make $50 million over two years with Jigga backing the signature scent, but instead they lost money.

Knight-Pulliam also shot down rumors that she’s already pregnant, but admits they are planning to start their family soon.

Meanwhile insiders told Atlanta celebrity blogger Sandra Rose that Hartwell was

Chronicling Ferguson

Kickstarter campaign hopes to preserve social media on unrest

By Mariah Stewart Ferguson Fellow

Anyone who took photos during the Ferguson unrest in 2014 can now have their work published in a book, thanks to a new campaign launched on Kickstarter. St. Louis photographer Santiago Bianco, community organizer Jason Gray and TedxGatewayArch founder Steve Sommers came up with the idea for the project, called “Chronicle Ferguson.”

Bianco, 24, was in Ferguson to capture images of the protests after unarmed black teenager Michael Brown Jr. was fatally shot by a white police officer in August 2014. He, Gray and Sommers noticed how many people were there to take photos, and they came up with the idea for the book, Bianco told The Huffington Post. The hashtags #Ferguson or

#mikebrown, once abundant on social media during the protests, are now fading away, Bianco said. It’s nearly impossible to trace photos that were taken at the beginning of the unrest, he said.

“With social media, they kind of get lost really quickly,” Bianco said. “This is a means of preserving them and a more organized and easily digestible way of seeing the images.”

Anyone can submit their photos to the Chronicle Ferguson website to be part of the book. By tagging the date and location of the photos, they can be published in chronological order. Photos that don’t make the cut for the book will be featured on an online database that Bianco said will be “fully filterable.”

“You can sort it by location, by date, by who took the image, and also by what camera they used,” he said.

Michigan poisons poor to save money

By Jesse L. Jackson Sr. Columnist

Flint, Michigan is

impoverished. The auto plants have closed. Forty percent of the city’s 100,000 residents live below the poverty level. It’s been in fiscal crisis since 2011, with the state taking over budgetary control and a state-appointed “emergency manager” driving policy focused on cutting spending.

Flint residents are Americans, but like many

impoverished Americans they are forgotten. And state officials led by Gov. Rick Snyder have shown that they consider the residents disposable. In Flint, the water supply has been poisoned by lead. Police are now delivering bottled water from door to door. But it may be too late for hundreds of kids who are already suffering from elevated levels of lead in their blood. The damage done is irreversible with lifelong consequences, including

Currently, more than 30 photographers have submitted over 5,000 images for the project.

Bianco and his partners plan to donate a photo book and educational ebook curriculum to all St. Louis-area high schools and libraries. In a video on the Kickstarter site, Bianco said he hopes the photo book will help students understand how and why the Ferguson protests occurred.

“Any school can actually request a book. So other schools around the country can get one, too,” he said.

Although amateur and cell phone pictures are welcome, Bianco hopes to receive more images from professionals.

“There’s a lot of stories that only the people who were there know about. So, we hope to gather and hopefully tell a broader story,” he said. In one day, the Kickstarter

lowered intelligence and long-term mental and emotional damage. How did this happen? The emergency manager – accountable only to the governor and state officials –decided to save money by switching Flint’s water supply from Lake Huron to a cheaper source, the Flint River. Only the river had been poisoned by waste from nearby factories for generations. The toxic wastes not only turned the water brown, it corroded the aged pipes of Flint’s water system, unleashing lead into the water. Federal law required that the water be treated, but that would

campaign raised over $2,000 to print and distribute the books.

At press time, it had raised nearly $5,500 of the $25,000 goal with 38 days to go.

“There’s probably $1,300 more [already raised], because at the launch event we gave

have cost $100 a day, so it was not done. Parents began to complain of rashes and hair loss. The state’s environmental quality agency denied there was a problem. Highlevel state officials knew that the water supply was leadpoisoned for six months before declaring an emergency. Finally, a Flint pediatrician tested the blood of children and discovered lead levels double and even triple the prior amounts. State officials denounced her work before realizing the truth could no longer be hidden. Finally, Snyder ended the

people the option of donating with Square, and those don’t go through Kickstarter,” Bianco said.

The “Chronicle Ferguson” Kickstarter is at https://www. kickstarter.com/projects/ chronicleferguson/chronicle-

denial. He declared an official emergency, and four days later called for delivering bottled water. The head of his environmental agency resigned. Snyder apologized for the catastrophe, but calls for him to resign continue to build.

The cost of this callousness – in lives lost, disease, mental damage, crime, drugs, hopelessness - are immense. This isn’t about money. We pay more on the back end – in prisons and emergency rooms, cops and guards, prisons and addiction centers – than we would have to spend on the front-end investments that would give every child a chance.

Conservatives continue to call for dismantling

environmental regulations. They slash budgets for policing violations by corporations or cities. They want to slash support for poverty programs and block-grant them to the states and localities. The next time you hear that rap, think of Flint, its poorest children betrayed by state officials. Think of Flint deprived even of safe water in order to save a few bucks. Think of Flint and investigate your own community.

Jesse L. Jackson Sr. is founder and president of the Chicago-based Rainbow PUSH Coalition. You can keep up with his work at www.rainbowpush. org.

Columnist Jesse L. Jackson Jr.

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

The social media this citizen captured with her cell phone in Ferguson on August 14, 2014 – and all other eyewitness documents – is being sought for a “Chronicle Ferguson” project.

Editorial /CommEntary

Jennings must sustain progress in schools

Topeka’s gain is the St. Louis region’s loss, as Tiffany Anderson – superintendent of the Jennings School District and the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2015 Stellar Performer in Education – is leaving us to assume the superintendent position at Topeka Public Schools in Kansas, the state where her family lives. The commute across the entire state of Missouri has been grueling for this tireless public servant, and for once we believe a public official when we’re told she is leaving a position to spend more time with her family. It is also, in one sense, a greater challenge for this proven leader, in that the Topeka district has 14,000 students, nearly five times the enrollment of Jennings. In another sense, there is no greater challenge than a public school district, like Jennings, where all of the students – 100 percent – are from lowincome families (compared to about 70 percent in Topeka). While we wish Tiffany well and will miss her dearly, it is those students, nearly all of them African-American, who most concern us. Miranda Jones, who serves as a member of both the Jennings Board of Education and its City Council, said at the council meeting on Monday that the district will “continue on the progress” that Tiffany started in Jennings schools and “make sure we’re still going in the right direction.” We appreciate her faith and confidence in a district that only recently regained full accreditation.

Tiffany shares her faith and confidence in the district. “The work we have done in Jennings is absolutely sustainable,” Tiffany told us. “The results in Jennings are a result of many staff members, students and community members who came together to improve schools. All of those individuals are still there, and collectively they will be continuing the work. While early on, one person may lead the initial work and show new ways to serve others, it is the entire team working together who is responsible for the outcomes. My role was to inspire staff and students to expect more and to lead staff to a path for ongoing school improvement. My role was to help build a foundation that would serve as a springboard for future growth. The foundation is built, and it’s ready for a new leader to continue to build onto it. The model we implemented in serving the whole child can be sustained if the right people are in place with high expectations and support.”

We wish the Jennings Board of Education a promising list of candidates to succeed this formidable leader, and the wisdom to choose the leader most committed to the district’s current model of “serving the whole child.” As for the essential “high expectations and support,” the

Tiffany Anderson accepted the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2015 Stellar Performer in Education award on Friday, September 25. Photo by Wiley Price

school board, district and its precious students can expect that from us as well. We are here to serve you.

Dueker: wrong for NAACP board

Nimrod Chapel, the newly elected state president of the NAACP, appointed Jane Dueker to the state conference’s executive board, touting her as the first white woman to serve on that body. While we share his commitment to diversity in our collective struggle to advance the best interests of our people, we reject this particular appointment.

Dueker’s record as a lobbyist and attorney do not conform to the organization’s ideals. She represented Doe Run Company (a major lead producer and polluter), worked closely with organized labor to unseat the first black county executive of St. Louis County (and elect Steve Stenger), and was the lead lawyer and lobbyist representing big business in defeating the minimum wage ordinance passed by the City of St. Louis.

The only way to rectify this gross error in judgment is to remove Dueker and appoint in her place a proven, unequivocal champion for fairness, justice and equal opportunity.

NGA West in North STL is environmentally just As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

By John Hickey Guest columnist

The Department of Defense

is in the process of deciding where it should locate the next home of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) West headquarters, currently located just south of downtown St. Louis. For a number of reasons, the NGA should be located in North St. Louis, near the site of the old Pruitt-Igoe housing complex.

The North St. Louis site is better for the NGA’s stated goal of being more open in its operations and more connected with the public. It is closer to the airport and existing NGA West facilities. It also is the only location on the list of four (North St. Louis, Fenton, Mehlville and near Scott Air Force Base near Shiloh, Illinois) that meets the guidelines of presidential Executive Order 12072, which requires the federal government give priority to urban areas when it moves federal facilities.

As the nation’s largest grassroots environmental organization, we see two other, critical reasons why North St. Louis is the best location for the NGA: environmental protection and environmental justice.

There is a major difference in terms of environmental impact between redeveloping an urban area like North St. Louis – which would include cleaning up existing hazardous contamination – and building a new facility from the ground up on a 180-acre plot of green space and farmland, as would be required at Scott Air Force Base. The plan for the North St.

Louis site includes a clean, reliable energy network through upgraded “smart” infrastructure, distributed power generation and on-site renewables as well as the cleanup of existing hazardous contamination and the installation of large swaths of new green space. The Scott AFB location includes the displacement of a two-acre forested wetland.

Furthermore, building in North St. Louis would not add significantly to the commute times of current NGA employees, who already commute to the city, whereas locating NGA West at Scott AFB would require many employees – it is estimated that 70 percent of NGA West’s current workforce lives in Missouri – to add 60 or more minutes to their commute each day, adding significant amounts of auto exhaust and pollution into our region’s air.

Developing a project of this size in North St. Louis would also provide a perfect opportunity for our region to develop mass transit connecting North St. Louis to the rest of the region – a much cleaner option than expanding drive times across the river.

Placing NGA West at Scott Air Force Base would increase urban sprawl, whereas placing it in North St. Louis epitomizes the pro-environmental principle of smart growth, which we define as “intelligent,

As I See It - A Forum for Community Issues

Seeking equity in Jefferson City

By Maria Chappelle-Nadal Guest columnist

My focus in Jefferson City this session is on equity. Equality is every student having a classroom where they can learn. Equity is having support systems in place, new books and a comfortable environment where they learn. The State of Missouri must demonstrate that it has provided equity to all St. Louis residents. I am delighted to continue this fight in Jefferson City on your behalf and make our state a better place.

In the interim, I held more than a dozen town halls regarding radioactive waste. People expressed sincere concern for the history of gross negligence and the mistreatment of St. Louis city and county residents. I have introduced two pieces of legislation this session to protect St. Louisans and first responders from suffering from the effects of radioactive waste contamination.

Over the summer, I marched in honor of Mike Brown and against social injustice, and the Ferguson Commission released their report. Once again, I have introduced legislation to bring the state in line with national standards on use of force, the application of body cameras on police in the field and racial profiling. I have also introduced legislation on gun control. We need to address public safety in a more robust fashion.

If you watched the State of the Union, you heard the president mention a push for a debt-free solution to colleges

well-planned development that channels growth into existing areas, provides public transportation options, and preserves farm land and open space.”

Both science and common sense tell us that putting cars on the road for longer periods of time leads to more air pollution, which leads to higher rates of asthma, which are already elevated in the City of St. Louis. So locating NGA West across the river will not only take jobs and tax revenues out of the city, it could lead to an increase in health problems for our children.

The North St. Louis location also includes the development of new, infill housing, new trees, greenways, bike paths and other amenities that will help invigorate the surrounding community and connect the site to other areas in the city. This type of smart development exemplifies environmental justice: cleaner, greener neighborhoods, new jobs, and investments in the economy. The Scott AFB site, on the other hand, is isolated and connected to few, if any, other community amenities. Most NGA employees will drive in and drive out, and lowerincome communities and communities of color will not benefit.

If we are going to commit ourselves to meeting the goals of environmental justice, smart growth and equitable development, then there is only one obvious choice as the next home of NGA West: North St. Louis.

John Hickey is Missouri Chapter director of the Sierra Club.

East West Gateway issued their newest “Where We Stand” report highlighting how African Americans are all but left out of the regional economy. St. Louis Community College issued an annual report on the regional workforce. While companies in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields value diversity, they have struggled with hiring enough minorities, especially women and African Americans. I am happy to highlight BioSTL’s launch of a diversity program and Boeing continues to lead by providing opportunities to students, introducing them to STEM careers. This year, I have introduced legislation that requires the city and county of St. Louis to improve their minority participation programs and implement plans to level the playing field for women, minorities and economically disadvantaged business enterprises.

State Senator Maria Chappelle-Nadal (D-University City) represents District 14 in the Missouri Senate.

and universities. I am proud to have signed on to lead this fight in Missouri. We need to do more for our seniors, our parents and our children. We can start by not weighing down young adults with debt that will burden new families and prevent homeownership. Having a decent start in life should be our first concern. I visited the students at Mizzou during their protest of the administration. Their message wasn’t just about being heard while on campus. Their fight is a message for us all on social equity in all areas, and that includes a quality education at a reasonable cost. While I was on campus I saw how different we have become, but if you were there at the end, you would have seen how students and faculty rallied to support and protect their fellow students. The indecency of the situation was in the constant refusal to listen to each other. Legislation is certainly going to be introduced from all perspectives. I will continue to pay close attention to how the University of Missouri responds and the legislation offered. We need to keep Missouri moving. Your lives and jobs depend on it. Did you know the highway system also serves as the backbone for the internet and other utilities? St. Louis has incredible infrastructure, but if we don’t maintain the system we put many industries at risk. The Missouri Department of Transportation has been implementing the Diversity Plan of 2013, but I want to see more out of the department in this area. You are being shortchanged in many ways by a department that taxes all but does not provide opportunity for all. When I am asked to support a new tax, I will be asking what’s in it for you, other than the potential for a pile of rubble.

Letters to the editor

Better connected

Picture it: “Tonight Show” host Johnny Carson in character as Carnac the Magnificent, mystic from the East. As viewers know, Carnac used his supernatural powers to divine the answer to questions written on cards which were sealed in envelopes held by Carson’s sidekick, Ed McMahon.

Carnac holds an envelope to his forehead, feigns deep thought, then states, “Better Together!” He hands the envelope back to McMahon. Ed opens the envelope, extracts the card inside and reads the question: “What program if implemented will provide St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger and St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay with ample, wellpaying public jobs with which they may reward their wealthy supporters and sycophants?”

The civil unrest following the shooting death of Michael Brown Jr. resulted in a myriad of investigations involving government functions in St. Louis County municipalities, and St. Louis County and city. Subsequent reports from

Better Together clearly show that taxpayers would be better served by consolidation of some services: police, fire, ambulance, the courts, highway maintenance and others.

The Saracino revelation clearly reveals the covert politics engrained in the St. Louis region. Nepotism, cronyism and favoritism prevail. So with the improved services of Better Together, will citizens inevitably be subjected to the surreptitious political chicanery of county executives, mayors, chiefs of police and the wealthy and well-connected? Carnac has the answer!

Michael K. Broughton Green Park

Justice in health care

Dr. King sought equality for African Americans, the economically disadvantaged and victims of injustice through peaceful protest. We have come a long way on the road toward equality and eradicating injustice, but we still have a

little further to travel. Dr. King addressed the issue when he said: “Of all the forms of inequality, injustices in health care are the most shocking and inhumane.” I couldn’t agree more. As chair of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Health Braintrust, I will continue to lead the fight to level the playing field to reduce health disparities that impact the health of African-American communities. Today, we still live in a society where minority populations experience higher rates of infant mortality, HIV/ AIDS, and cardiovascular disease than whites.

For America to achieve true health equity, lawmakers, community leaders and public health stakeholders must come together to promote better health outcomes for diverse communities. Please join me in honoring Dr. King’s memory by bringing about equality and justice in health care for all Americans, regardless of race, gender or zip code.

U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly Washington, D.C.

Guest Columnist John Hickey

AKA-Gamma Omega Chapter President Coretta Bozeman and 95th Anniversary Chairman Villa Jones present a check for $1,000 to Salvation Army representatives in recognition for the organization’s partnership with the chapter and service to the St. Louis community.

AKA chapter celebrates 95 years in STL

The Gamma Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. recently marked 95 years of service in the St. Louis metropolitan area with a celebration that honored area community leaders. The anniversary celebration “Legends and Leaders in the Community” recognized Harris-Stowe State University, Innovative Concept Academy, United Way of Greater St. Louis and the Salvation Army Midland Division. Monetary awards that ranged from $500 to $1,000 were presented to the organizations.

“Like the organizations honored, Gamma Omega’s goal is to implement programs and activities that serve to benefit greater mankind,” said Coretta Bozeman, president of Gamma Omega.

Started in 1920, Gamma Omega is the third oldest graduate chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. is the first African-American sorority, founded in 1908 on the campus of Howard University in Washington, DC by and for college educated women.

Deltas host Founders Day Luncheon on January 30

The St. Louis Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will hold their Founders Day Luncheon 11 a.m. Saturday, January 30 at the RitzCarlton Hotel, 100 Carondelet Plaza (doors will open at 10:30 a.m.) Theme: “This Is Our Season...The Present.”

The luncheon keynote address will be given by Cynthia M.A. Butler-McIntyre, the 24th national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She served with honor from July 2008 - July 2013. Her distinguished record of service include leading the sorority through its centennial celebrations, giving worldwide attention to the sorority and its work globally.

Initiated into the sorority through the Beta Gamma Chapter of Dillard University on November 30, 1973, Butler-McIntyre has served Delta with a dedicated spirit and determined mind at the local, state, regional and national levels.

As a result of her hard work and the innumerable undertakings on behalf of Delta, in 2013 the Delta Sigma Theta School was opened in Cherete’ Haiti and it is named the Cynthia M.A. Butler-McIntyre campus. She recently retired as the director of Human Resources for the Jefferson Parish Public Schools in Harvey, Louisiana. For most of her career she served as the sole administrator with supervision of the system’s 3,500-plus classified employees. President Barack Obama appointed her to the Board of Trustees of the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation. Leslie Thomas-Washington is Founders Day chairperson, and Mitchelle Price is president of the St. Louis Alumnae Chapter.

The luncheon cost is $60 and the public is invited.

For additional information, contact Leslie Thomas-Washington at (314) 566-6500 or deltadva12@aol.com.

MLK in an age of Black Lives Matter

By Darlene Green Guest columnist

We celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a called man, a leader called by God to sacrifice his life for future generations. Dr. King fought for civil rights, for voting rights and economic justice. Many positive changes have happened; doors have opened for us from the church house to the White House. Important seats opened up from the bus, to the boardroom. But still, the struggle continues.

While Dr. King promoted a nonviolence movement to enact change, today we fight the good fight against gun violence. “Black lives matter” is today’s battle cry. This generation reminds us to fight not only for economic justice – a livable wage – but better police training, and body cameras for police.

We deserve better gun laws that protect us from terrorist acts and gun violence. Young people need to put the guns down and pick up the Bible. They need to be given options for a better life – job training, education and recreational opportunities must be made available so that one day they can pick up a pay check.

n We need to be loving on our young people so they know that they matter.

We need to be loving on our young people so they know that they matter. The city should not kowtow to special interests by taking money away from our neighborhoods and giving it to rich NFL team owners. Doing so robs the future of our young people. Our young people deserve our love and respect.

Though the struggle is not over, through prayers things have changed and will change. As we pray, we can stand together for common-sense laws that protect us all. We can stand together to ensure that there are programs and policies that heal and empower our communities. We can stand together to stop the violence and demand equality and dignity for us all.

Dr. King’s life and legacy leave us with the wisdom and words of nonviolence, love, and peace. He said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

Remarks made at the 2016 Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Celebration in St. Louis.

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

Darlene Green

Cynthia M.A. Butler-McIntyre

CLEMONS

Continued from A1

as a sentence enhancer when prosecutor Nels Moss sought –and won – the death penalty.

Following the appointment of a special master, Judge Michael Manners, and his report, the Missouri Supreme Court vacated the conviction on November 24, 2015, and gave the circuit attorney 60 days in which to file new charges.

Clemons remains confined at the Potosi Correctional Center on a 15-year sentence for a 2007 assault on a Missouri Department of Corrections employee.

Joyce said a team of prosecutors have reviewed the state’s evidence, determined the availability of witnesses and reporting officers, and discussed the matter with the victims’ family.

“While this is a heartbreaking and emotionally charged case for this community, I believe we have the evidence needed to pursue charges and hold Mr. Clemons accountable for the crimes he committed against Julie and Robin Kerry and Thomas Cummins,” Joyce said in a

JENNINGS

Continued from A1

Yolanda Brown was the sole vote against impeachment.

Though Henderson’s suit against the city was dismissed, she quickly ran afoul of the council again by trying to award a contract to a vendor, Tony Weaver, when the council had voted against it. Weaver had to be escorted from the November 23 council meeting by police when he persisted in sitting at the staff table after his contract had been voided.

At that point on November 23, the mayor said that Weaver would be paid anyway. City

statement. Cummins is the girls’ cousin, who was robbed during the incident.

Cummins was the first suspect in the case, and police said he confessed during his interrogation. However, Cummins maintained his innocence and claimed that police beat him and tried to script a confession for him.

Cummins received a reported $150,000 settlement from the city for his claim of police brutality, which was awarded almost immediately after Clemons was sentenced to death.

Clemons confessed to raping one of the Kerry girls, not murder. He immediately recanted his confession and claimed it was coerced, citing some of the same beating techniques as Cummins described. Though the judge who saw Clemons after his interrogation and confession sent him to the hospital for treatment, his confession was permitted in his jury trial.

Clemons has been calling for a new trial since his conviction, on grounds that the coerced confession should not have been admissible and the jury was denied evidence that Clemons had been beaten, known as a “Brady violation”

attorney Mary Jamis Kresyman read the law that the mayor would violate if she paid Weaver with city money, along with the sentencing guidelines, which include up to one year in jail.

“That was dangerous,” Epps told The American The 7-1 vote on January 25 was to approve a contract with attorney John M. Hessel of Lewis Rice to handle the impeachment proceedings for the council. He is the longstanding city attorney for Florissant and Kirkwood. Hessel said he will represent the council in gathering testimony and taking deputations to hold what amounts to an administrative hearing regarding the mayor’s

of due process after the landmark 1963 ruling in Brady vs. Maryland

In his report, Manners found that the state did suppress critical evidence from a parole officer, Warren Weeks, who noted that Clemons had an injury consistent with a police beating after his interrogation.

“The master determined that the state’s failure to disclose this evidence was prejudicial to Mr. Clemons because it could

fitness to serve. Paul Martin has been contracted to act as prosecutor in the hearing. Hessel said the process will take months.

Elbert Walton, the attorney who filed the mayor’s suit against the city, said the impeachment effort is “just grandstanding” after an effort to recall the mayor failed. Walton insisted that the council did not have enough votes to impeach the mayor.

In November, five council members voted to start the impeachment process, but the final vote to remove her will require six votes. This doesn’t account for the seven council members who voted on Monday to contract with attorneys to handle the

have led to the suppression of Mr. Clemons’ confession, a critical part of the state’s case against Mr. Clemons,” Chief Justice Patricia Breckenridge wrote in a 4-3 decision when the Missouri Supreme Court vacated Clemons’ conviction.

Joyce told The American that the Supreme Court ruled that Clemons’ defense counsel should have been alerted to Weeks’ testimony and given the chance to have Weeks

impeachment proceedings.

The mayor told The American she will continue to work at moving the city forward and had already received agreement from the council to meet with her in a working session at 7 p.m. on Monday, February 1.

Police contract flap

One contentious note from the public portion of the meeting on Monday hints at a board squabble to come.

Councilwoman Francine Dugger pointedly remarked that the mayor had obtained a draft version of the city’s request for proposals (RFP) for its police contract, which comes open this year. Dugger pointed out

testify to the jury. She said the Supreme Court did not throw out Clemons’ confession and “it remains to be seen whether it’s admissible.”

Joshua Levine, who led the pro bono legal team that argued Clemons’ appeals and habeas corpus proceedings, said, “We are obviously disappointed that the circuit attorney has decided to pursue a retrial.”

The Justice for Reginald Clemons campaign said in

that the city could be sued if any outside party saw a draft of the RFP before it is made public.

Henderson said she only asked for a copy of the draft RFP so she could type it more professionally.

Since March 2011, the city has contracted with the St. Louis County Police Department for police services, at the rate of $3 million per year. “I just feel like we’re paying a lot for police service, and we’re paying more than when we had our own,”

Henderson told KMOX in September.

Epps told The American that the mayor is misinformed.

a statement: “The 24-yearold case has seen many twists and turns, and this latest announcement comes as no surprise. We remain committed to Reggie’s struggle for the truth and justice.”

Clemons also won the new evidence phase from the special master based on his Habeas Corpus claim that he had new evidence of his innocence. Advocates who expected Clemons to take the stand and offer a dramatically new version of events on the bridge were disappointed, however, as he pled the 5th Amendment 29 times. Clemons answered a few questions to deny that he murdered the Kerry sisters or directly aided in their murders, but he refused to answer a string of questions relating to their rapes and other incidents on the bridge.

Many Clemons advocates had clung to the idea that Cummins, the girls’ cousin, was the actual perpetrator, but Clemons provided no new evidence that Cummins was guilty. The special master looked through all the evidence and concluded that Cummins was “the most honest man in this forest of deceit.”

Just as her suit sought to give the mayor unilateral hiring and firing authority, Epps said he thinks the mayor also wants a police department under her control.

“With her, I think it’s more about control than safety,” Epps said. “I want our citizens to be as safe as they can be, at the cheapest rate.”

The Jennings City Council meets at 7 p.m. on the last Monday of each month at City Hall, 2120 Hord Ave.

“With the police department we had, it was hard to balance the budget,” Epps said. “They did so many wrong things, we had so many law suits against us. The liability insurance was killing us.” He also said crime in Jennings is “down 30 percent” under the county police contract.

Missouri Assistant Attorney General Susan Boresi shows Reginald Clemons the flashlight that tied Clemons and his codefendants to the crime scene of the Chain of Rock Bridge rapes and murders when Clemons took the stand during the evidentiary hearing that the Missouri Supreme Court ordered in his case on September 19, 2012. Judge Michael Manners, special master in the case, listens from the bench.

Pool photo provided by Post-Dispatch

this district the best it can possibly be.”

U. City has about 3,000 students and is fully accredited.

In October, the state’s academic assessment showed that the district earned 110 out of 140 points, or a score of 78.6 percent – which is up from the previous year.

Hardin said that she is in the process of looking over the state’s data on the district, which she said will help her pose questions about the district and how to improve it.

“The data points are there,” she said, “but I don’t want to make any assumption of what the root causes are.”

However, Hardin said she is “sad to leave Ritenour,” where she has “an amazing team.”

At Ritenour, Hardin oversees the hiring of all district staff and organizes professional learning. She said her time at Ritenour has given her the opportunity to work in a more suburban setting, as well as with a more diverse student body.

Ritenour’s student population of 6,250 students is about 40 percent black, 36 percent white and 16 percent

FLANERY

Continued from A1 according to the statement. The legal limit is 0.08.

St. Louis Police Chief Samuel Dotson told The American that he then asked the lab to test Flanery’s blood for narcotics, acting on intelligence that he had received that Flanery used cocaine. The positive test results for cocaine came back on January 27.

Now Joyce will charge Flanery with driving under influence of alcohol and drugs, which is still only a misdemeanor.

Joyce told The American that Flanery’s toxicology results from December 19 have no legal bearing on his actions on October 8, 2014, when he fatally shot Myers. However, she said, this does point to the need to test officers for drugs and alcohol after an officerinvolved shooting.

Dotson told The American that the police union opposed him, but that he was working on issuing a new policy that orders toxicology screenings for officers involved in

Hispanic. St. Louis Public Schools, where she worked previously, has 24,150 students and is 83 percent African-American and 11 percent white.

U. City’s student body is very similar to SLPS demographically: 84 percent African-American and 10 percent white.

Previously, she was the chief human resources officer for SLPS from 2007 to 2012 and an elementary principal, instructional coach and teacher in SLPS from 1997 to 2007.

At SLPS, Hardin led the development of a peerassistance review program for teachers, called the St. Louis Plan. The goal was to support and retain new teachers and provide development opportunities to veterans as well.

“My strong background in HR and in instruction is a good blend,” she said.

In her current role, she works closely with school leaders to make sure that their goals align with district culture.

“You can have great systems in place, but if the culture and people’s behaviors don’t fit that system, it typical fails,” she said.

She has always believed in “leading with the head and the heart,” she said. She believes

officer-involved shootings. He said he hoped to make this announcement within days.

The incident

On December 19 at 6:17 a.m., Flanery was allegedly driving a police vehicle when he struck a parked car at the 3900 block of Jamieson Avenue, according to the probable cause statement released on January 25. The woman who owned the hit vehicle saw the police car crash. By the time she went out to assess the damage, the driver had left without leaving any information.

The police vehicle – which the police department had assigned to Flanery – was found later that morning not far from the accident and “had damage consistent with striking the parked vehicle.”

Other police officers observed that Flanery smelled like he had been drinking and was “unsteady or wobbly on his feet,” according to the statement.

Flanery was arrested, refused a breathalyzer test, and then was released without bail, said police department officials.

it’s important to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes and surround herself with people who both compliment and balance her.

“The word I live by is ‘humility,” she said. “See how that resonates when you work with people.”

From 2005 to 2007, Hardin served as “Principal on Special Assignment,” helping SLPS expand its partnership with the St. Louis Science Center and to

Joyce’s office was contacted and a search warrant was obtained from a circuit judge to draw blood from Flanery to see if he was intoxicated or under the influence of drugs when involved in the alleged accident. This is standard procedure for when a driver suspected of drunk driving refuses a breathalyzer test.

Flanery resigned from the department on December 19. However, he still has a valid “Class A” officer license, according to a spokesman for

improve the district’s focus on science and math instruction. She was the founding principal of Adams Elementary School, one of SLPS’s new schools.

Hardin is in the process of moving into her husband’s childhood home in University City with their two children. Her husband, James Bartley, is a district alumnus, and she feels she is “keenly aware” of the community.

Hardin grew up in North

the Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) program. But he is not currently commissioned by any law enforcement agency, according to POST.

When asked if POST officials are investigating whether or not to revoke Flanery’s license, the spokesman said by law the POST program cannot disclose when it is investigating an officer.

Flanery was working as an off-duty security officer in

St. Louis and participated in the desegregation program, attending Lafayette High School. She has her undergraduate degree in elementary education and special education from HarrisStowe State University and earned an M.A. in education administration from Saint Louis University. She recently completed her Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies at the University

the Shaw neighborhood when he shot and killed Myers on October 8, 2014, but was not charged with any crime by Joyce. Several witnesses told police that Myers and Flanery were involved in a gunfight, and police claimed to retrieve a firearm from Myers’ corpse, along with several bullets and casings that matched the weapon.

Praise in motion

The Leaders in Motion Dance Ministry performed during service at St. Alphonsus Liguori “Rock” Church on Sunday, January 24, when the Catholic parish on North Grand Boulevard celebrated the Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday.

of Missouri-St. Louis. “I am thoughtful leader who understands the importance of human connectedness,” she said. “I believe in education equity for all students, regardless of their zip codes.” There will be a public reception for Hardin 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 9 at the McNair Administrative Center, 8136 Groby Rd.

Flanery later caused a stir when he worked the protest following the fatal police shooting of Mansur Ball-Bey on August 19, 2015. Flanery was working a shift for GCI Security when he killed Myers. Someone who answered the phone at GCI on January 25 said she could not confirm whether Flanery was still employed there.

Flanery, who graduated from the police academy in 2008, was 31 at the time he killed Myers, according to Joyce’s report. He had a previous misdemeanor conviction for unlawful use of a weapon in 2001.

Photo by Wiley Price

The National Football League has triumphed over the People once again. It has allowed St. Louis Rams’ billionaire owner, Stan Kroenke, to take his team to play in another sandbox. Some Rams fans and certainly opponents of publicfunded stadiums said good

Arena of fools

riddance. They held bonfires where Rams memorabilia were burned to ashes. There were also sightings of giant

wood chipper machines taking souvenirs in and spitting them out like pieces of a bad dream. As I’m talking to people

about the decision of the Rams to leave St. Louis, most seem to think it’s the end of a bad relationship. They don’t know that this bad dream just became a re-occurring nightmare for St. Louis taxpayers.

Every year until 2022, we’re stuck with paying $12 million a year. Some people are struggling to pay the mortgage on a home they chose to buy; they never agreed to the pay the mortgage on Edward Jones Dome. On top of this, taxpayers are stuck with paying the premature expenses related to keeping the Rams from leaving the

$8 billion has been poured into stadiums over the last decade without holding public votes. Sports teams have become efficient and effective at wooing cities with no more than false hopes of lots of jobs. Cities fall over themselves putting together packages with TIFs, tax abatements and other goodies to attract or maintain a new lover. In the end, the team goes to the city with the better sports dowry.

This is a city and state with misplaced human priorities and lots of issues. A state where 1 out of 4 children live in poverty, a city that is still fighting for a living wage. We have work to do and now that the stadium is a no deal, we need to refocus our resources and attention.

Taxpayers around the country will need to get better organized to put an end to these political and financial shenanigans that continually leave taxpayers holding an empty bag of promises.

Jamala Rogers

Can we trust the Clinton campaign?

The EYE remembers sitting in Rev. Traci Blackmon’s church - Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissantwhen presidential candidate Hillary Clinton came to speak to community leaders on June 23, 2015. One moment Clinton was talking about her mother. The next she slid in an “all lives matter” statement. Wait, what? In a black church?

Jennings Superintendent Tiffany Anderson was sitting right next to Clinton, along with St. Louis Teach For America executive director Brittany Packnett and Washington University’s public health guru Jason Q. Purnell A majority of the church was filled with African Americans, many of them also community leaders. Did anyone bother to look over this woman’s speech before she decided to say what is widely understood as a direct affront to the “Black Lives Matter” movement?

On December 11, 2015, the EYE had a chance to sit down with Marlon Marshall a St. Louis native who is now Clinton’s director of states and political engagement. CNN called him the highest-ranking African-American staffer on any presidential campaign. Apparently, Marshall had arranged the June community meeting, where Clinton was meant to discuss the impacts of racism. It was clear by the lineup of well-respected change makers that Marshall knows this community. One wonders if he reviewed the candidate’s remarks before she made them, if he has the kind of standing to insist on corrections, and if he had the nerve to tell her to stow the “all lives matter” tag in majority-black settings. Our conversation with Marshall went well, though it was brief because his only available time was right when the St. Louis Board of Aldermen was deliberating the stadium bill. Afterwards, we naturally wanted to know more about him. And that was when it felt like we had landed in an abusive relationship with the Clinton campaign. In the following holiday weeks, the Clinton campaign repeatedly wanted to know when the article – which they initiated – would be completed. Lots of sugary emails from regional communications representative Tyrone Gayle, offering to help provide “any additional information from us to help finish it.” They were the kind of emails that made you think Clinton really cared about the black community in St. Louis and its flagship newspaper. We requested pictures with Marshall and Clinton together on the campaign trail. We received a picture where you could only see the back of his head and his back while Clinton was in the

universal child care and prekindergarten. He supports equal pay for women – by law – and a requirement that employers provide at least 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave and a minimum of two weeks’ paid vacation.

And Sanders is proposing a universal, single-payer health care system – meaning everyone gets access to health care. Clinton attacked his proposal as wanting to dismantle ObamaCare, but ObamaCare was not what Obama himself actually wanted. It was full of compromises. And he himself said that it was only a start and shouldn’t be considered finished work.

Sanders also wants to demilitarize the police and address mass incarceration.

Clinton has made statements in these areas as well, but it all seems reactionary. Last summer, Black Lives Matter protestors shutdown two of Sanders’ speeches, demanding that he give more attention to racial injustice in his platform, which he did. So has Clinton.

He also raised the issue of the inequities plaguing the African-American community nationwide.

“If there is anything that we can learn from the Ferguson tragedy, it should be a recognition that we need to address the extraordinary crises facing black youths,” he wrote in a letter to the New York Times on August 20, 2014. “That means, among other things, a major jobs program, job training and vastly improved educational opportunities.”

DeRay’s take

After the EYE’s brief encounter with the Clinton campaign, we decided to reach out to a trusted source who has had much more experience with both campaigns – including meeting with Clinton and Sanders themselves.

spotlight. Uh, could we get a picture where we could see his face? They sent a headshot. Right. Could we see a picture that shows both his face and Clinton’s face? No further response on that editorial request.

After the post-Christmas flood crisis had died down, it was time to finish the Marshall feature, with or without a picture that makes it look like he has an important role in her campaign. We did as they offered and asked for more information – saying that we had thought about just running a simple Q&A, but that the initial exchange was brief and our readers would most likely want to know more about Marshall himself. Here is the response from Tyrone Gayle of the Clinton campaign: “This is is [sic] certainly a long lists of requests after we hadn’t heard from you for a while - not sure why we oculdnt [sic] have made the Q&A work previously.”

(Grammar and spelling untouched.) First of all, we had been in touch just days before. And secondly, why would a PR manager push for a lesser piece on the campaign, rather than do a little previously offered legwork to facilitate a more robust feature? Gayle made promises to get us information, but we are still waiting for those to be fulfilled, along with the photograph that shows both the candidate and her senior African-American campaign operative.

They say the fans don’t care if the hot dogs are cold in the press box, but this is more than journalistic whining. It may suggest a pattern of how seriously the Clinton campaign takes the black community and its issues. Right now, Clinton is making promises and claims of support on a variety of national issues of concern to this community that she had never touched before. Folks are

wondering if she is going to dump the black community like a bad habit when the going gets rough, or engage it in an “it’s you, not me” relationship if she wins the presidency?

Watch out for the Bern

The Democratic Party, national and state, did not expect Clinton to have to work for the black vote in this election cycle. There wasn’t supposed to be any serious competition from the left. Then here comes U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders

Sanders recently broke a historic milestone. The senator officially hit two million individual campaign contributions, a feat that no other U.S. presidential candidate has achieved at this point in an election, according to our content partner Huffington Post.

“To put that number in context, Barack Obama’s historic 2008 campaign managed to break just one million contributions. Sanders literally has twice what Obama had. Not only that, but Sanders reached two million faster than President Obama reached one,” HuffPo reported.

And it’s all coming from the little people – the average donation to Sanders was less than $30.

Sanders is touching on the core issues that the AfricanAmerican community wants to hear about right now. His central campaign theme is inequality, and he argues that Wall Street and the rich have “rigged the rules to redistribute wealth and income to the wealthiest and most powerful people of this country.” (His platform recently earned an endorsement from wellrespected, financial expert U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.) Since Ferguson, the

conversation about racial injustice does not get far without bringing up wealth inequity. As protestors have said, the problems of police brutality and racial inequity stems from the systems designed to keep the poor in perpetual cycle of poverty (i.e., the municipal courts’ debtors prisons, building prisons while closing schools, etc.).

Sanders wants to get rid of tax loopholes for wealthy individuals and large corporations. He wants to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour and put millions of people to work by spending $1 trillion over five years to renew the country’s aging infrastructure.

Sanders wants to make tuition free at public colleges and universities. He wants

But when it comes to doing that with sincerity, which of the two candidates has the longer history of fighting for racial justice?

Sanders was fighting police brutality as a University of Chicago student, being active in both the Congress on Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He was arrested for protesting segregation in public schools in Chicago in 1962.

After Michael Brown Jr.’s shooting death in Ferguson on August 9, 2014, Sanders publicly spoke out against the militarized response to protestors – saying police looked like “an occupying army in hostile territory and that is absolutely not what we want to see in the United States.”

IVC Filters are medical devices designedtopreventpulmonary embolism by catching blood clots that may be traveling through your bloodstream. Studies have indicated that retrievable IVC filters mayhave caused multiple types of adverseevents,including:

Last fall, DeRay Mckesson and other protestors and activists met with them and published an in-depth blog about their take-away’s here. It’s informative and helpful. However, we wanted to know about Mckesson’s take on the trustworthiness of each candidate.

“When I think about Bernie, I’m trying to understand how he’s going to do the broad range of things he said he’s going to do,” he said.

When Mckesson and protestors met with Hillary, they asked her why she has adopted such a piecemeal approach to releasing a platform around criminal justice and race. “It doesn’t make sense to me,” he said.

“She has very slowly – slower than any other section of issues she’s addresses publicly –addressed race and criminal justice.”

Fracture causing metal pieces to spread throughout the body

Migrate to the heart and lungs

Perforate major organs

The FDA is aware of these adverse event reports and twice has recommended that retrievable IVC filters be removed as soon as safely possible.

Schlichter, Bogard and Denton has a national reputation for successfully resolving medical device injury and death cases. There are time limitationsonpursuingclaimsso call us today for a free consultation.

Photo by Wiley Price

Hillary Clinton spoke at Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant on June 23, 2015.

Starting over

Members of The Empowerment Network (TEN), the late co-founder Isadore Wayne Sr. and Lloyd Johnson share an emotional embrace in support of each other in their prostate cancer journey. TEN founder Mellve Shahid Sr. shares in the moment.

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is in the process of reviewing its 2012 recommendations on prostate screening. Cancer of the prostate is the second most common cancer in men in the United States (second only to skin cancer) Older men, African American men and men with a family history of prostate cancer are at greater risk for developing the disease.

In 2012, the Task Force recommended against the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test for adult men of all ages. It said expected harms of PSA screening were greater than the potential benefit, and in many cases, the cancer does not grow or cause symptoms or health problems in a man’s lifetime. Their recommendation did not apply to men already diagnosed or under treatment for prostate cancer. Unfortunately, a disproportionate number of black men are dying from prostate cancer. Between 1999 and 2012, African American men were more likely to be diagnosed and to die of prostate cancer than men of any other race in the U.S., according to mortality data of the National Center for Health Statistics, Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Without the PSA test, there is no screening tool for early diagnosis of disease. This time around, advocates for prostate cancer patients and survivors want the Task Force’s updated recommendations to

Men in the St. Louis who area with prostate cancer have a strong support system in The Empowerment Network, which is made up of prostate cancer patients, survivors and advocates. In its eight years, the organization has been active in the fight against prostate cancer and reaches out to uninsured and underinsured males age 35 and older and their families for awareness of prostate and related cancers, PSA testing and screening, as well as resources and support. TEN was co-founded by the late Isadore M. Wayne, Sr. and Mellve Shahid, who is the guest columnist on this important health topic for African American men.

‘No man is a failure who has friends’

By Mellve Shahid Sr., Founder/CEO, The Empowerment

Network

As I think about my journey with prostate cancer and how God has blessed TEN with the success it has had over the years, my mind goes back to a quote that I have often heard, “No man is a failure who has friends.” It’s a great quote from Mark Twain, and it was used in the movie classic, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” It’s a movie that tells a story that is similar to the story of The Empowerment Network (TEN).

Take action by January 31 deadline Prostate

include adequate research including African American men.

“That’s an NIH directive that you have to have broad representation in clinical trials so that we can make certain that the treatments will be effective across all groups,” said Dr. Lannis Hall, director of Radiation Oncology at Siteman Cancer Center at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital.

In her role as a clinical trials leader of the Program to Eliminate Cancer Disparities at the Washington University School of Medicine, Hall makes sure there is adequate representation of women and minorities participating on clinical trials offered at Siteman Cancer Center. “Knowing how important that is, I thought

See CANCER, A11

Since Open Enrollment began on November 1, about 8.8 million consumers signed-up for health coverage through the HealthCare.gov platform or had their coverage automatically renewed. From the beginning of Open Enrollment to January 16 in Missouri, there are 266,036 plan selections, with 122,974 coming from the St. Louis area. Illinois had 354,962 during the same period. The figures come from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “As expected, consumer interest is beginning to increase again as we near the deadline for 2016 coverage,” HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell said. “We know we have more work to do and as we count down to the January 31 final deadline, we’re focused on making sure consumers understand that they must act soon to find affordable health coverage and avoid the fee for choosing to not have health insurance in 2016. Consumers should know that we’re here to help 24 hours a day,

The Empowerment Network has become the angel and helper in the lives of so many men and their families in times of trouble, encouraging them to see a brighter tomorrow. This story is the guiding principle for TEN, with the goal of re-shaping the futures of cancer survivors. It changes survivors’ stories from being hopeless to hopeful and helpful as they share with others.

In times of trouble and despair, friends are those you can turn to for help. Our greatest resources and investments in life are not always the plastic charge cards in our wallets, the stocks, the mutual funds or the CDCs that we have stacked up in our retirement accounts. It’s being our brothers’ keeper. What makes the world around us so wonderful and the pains we have bearable, is when friends come to our rescue, offering support, sharing a kind word, a helping hand, a prayer, or a hug. When you have the support of a friend, a diagnosis of cancer does not have to leave a scar on you psychologically or emotionally that remains with you the rest of your life.

As TEN befriends many of the men that have been diagnosed or have survived this disease, the offering of needed moral support helps to reshape the lives of the newly diagnosed men and the survivors to have a new sense of confidence to bounce back.

They see success not failure. They are able to embrace their situation and circumstances from making a bad deci-

Coalition of doctors advocate for smart prostate cancer screening of African-American men See DOCTOR, A11

Mellve Shahid Sr.

A10 ST. LOUIS AMERICAN

Photo by WIley Price

Denise HooksAnderson, MD

Taking the first step

It is time to take action against prediabetes

While most people are familiar with type 2 diabetes, fewer are aware of prediabetes, a serious health condition that affects 86 million Americans (more than one in three) and often leads to type 2 diabetes. People with prediabetes have higher than normal blood glucose (sugar) levels, but not high enough yet to be diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

“Knowing that you have prediabetes is just the first step in preventing the onset of type 2 diabetes,” said AMA President-Elect Andrew W. Gurman, M.D.

The prevalence is so great that the American Medical

CANCER

Continued from A10

it was reprehensible, unconscionable, that we would make a national policy recommendation not to screen all men when the population that had the highest tumor burden and risk of death were not included in adequate numbers,” Hall said.

“We know this is the largest disparity of any solid tumor, when you look at breast, lung, colon – it is prostate that stands out as the widest disparity in St. Louis for having the highest mortality rate.”

She started talking about it with other physicians, including the Disparities Eliminations Advisory Committee at Washington University.

Association (AMA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Diabetes Association partnered with the Ad Council for a public service awareness campaign to prevent type 2 diabetes.

Nearly 90 percent of people with prediabetes don’t know they have it and aren’t aware of the long-term risks to their health, including type 2 diabetes, heart attack, and stroke. Current trends suggest that, if not treated, 15 to 30 percent of people with prediabetes will develop type 2 diabetes within five years.

“For the 86 million Americans with prediabetes,

we need to communicate a sense of urgency -- that it’s time to take action,” said Ann Albright, Ph.D., R.D., director of CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation. “By participating in a CDC-recognized diabetes prevention program, people with prediabetes can learn practical, real-life changes and cut their risk for developing type 2 diabetes by 58 percent.”

The good news is that prediabetes often can be reversed, through weight loss, diet changes and increased physical activity.

“As soon as someone discovers they may be at risk of prediabetes, they should talk with their physician about

further testing to confirm their diagnosis and discuss the necessary lifestyle changes needed to help prevent type 2 diabetes,” Gurman added. Diagnosis is key. Research shows that once people are aware of their condition, they are much more likely to make the necessary lifestyle changes.

Age, ethnicity, being overweight or obese, a family history of diabetes, diagnosed high blood pressure, being physically inactive, and uncensored eating behaviors are some of the factors may indicate prediabetes.

Take the risk test at https:doihaveprediabetes.org.

“What we thought, that even though the task force came out with that recommendation, because there was not a sizeable or adequate number of African American men in the studies, that doctors would recognize that you can’t broadly apply this to African American men. But that really has not happened,” she said. Even within the physician community – Hall said some doctors were unaware that the

DOCTOR

Continued from A10

sion of going down a one- way street into on-going traffic, to making a U-turn and surviving a life threatening illness. That’s what friends are for! They are there through good

times and bad times in our lives, standing side- by- side as we travel this rough road of uncertainty with cancer. Real friendship is the glue that helps to bond life and faith together. Many relationships in our organization started as strangers helping strangers; but they have grown into friendships, and now we are a family. This

research that was the basis of the 2012 recommendations, did not include a valid subpopulation analysis of black men.

common bond is something that we all need when we are faced with an insidious disease or the ups and downs of this life. Since my diagnosis with prostate cancer, a disease that comes to steal the life of a man, I have been blessed with many great friends that I would have never met from all walks

Registration underway for free children’s dental services

Give Kids A Smile clinic Feb. 19-20

Most have suffered from a toothache. While the pain can be intense, a quick trip to the dentist is typically all that’s needed to take the pain away. However, limited financial resources and little or no insurance can prevent trips to the dentist. As a result, untreated dental decay can become a major health concern. Give Kids A Smile will host its bi-annual free dental clinic on Friday, Feb. 19 and Saturday, Feb. 20, hundreds of local dental professionals will gather again at Saint Louis University’s Center for Advanced Dental Education.

The group expects more than 400 children to access free dental care at the clinic, where hundreds of local dental professionals will provide the services, which are free of charge for toddlers and school-aged children through 8th grade, who are Medicaid-eligible, qualify for a school lunch program or need dental assistance due to other circumstances.

The event also features an entertainment area for children to enjoy after they receive services, which includes face painters, balloon artists, games, a visit from Delta Dental’s Tooth Wizard and the ability to interact with a Spanishspeaking Tooth Fairy who helps communicate to non-English speaking children.

The registration process includes the completion of health history and consent forms. Appointments are given on a firstcome, first-served basis. Registration for the event is open now through Wednesday, February 10 by calling Give Kids A Smile at 636-397-6453 or visit online at www.gkas.org.

PSA,” Hall said.

Last June, Hall and other physicians launched a grass roots effort focusing on fellow physicians, advocating doctors to continue screening for African American men for prostate cancer.

“Our goals are to build momentum with our petition to take this message across the state of Missouri; to make it a national message with cooperation with the National Medical Association and to move this message into the community so that men and their loved ones will begin to ask their physician about the importance of PSA tests.”

Hall reminds that free PSA tests are available through The Empowerment Network, at Siteman and at Federally Qualified Health Centers.

Source CDC

“We are also hearing from physicians that they will try to get a screening PSA and insurance has denied that screening

of life at TEN. But with great friendship by our side, and sharing stories of our journeys, it is easier to see that you can survive and you can win. This approach has changed and re-shaped the thinking, mentality, and behavior of men living with this disease, to help them become exemplary models of strength and courage. It’s

“You don’t want to be diagnosed when its metastatic … you want a diagnosis when it’s localized and you have very good options for curative therapy,” she added. “If you diagnose prostate cancer and its localized, you have an excellent prognosis.”

The petition is linked to this story on our website at www. stlamerican.com.

through the Marketplace qualify for a tax credit with an average value of $318 per month, or about 76 percent of the pre-tax credit premium. In Missouri 59 percent of people who actively reenrolled in a Marketplace plan for 2016 switched to a different plan, saving an average of $31 per month ($372 per year) after tax credits.

Burwell said that health insurance plans are affordable and it’s not too late to shop for the best plan.

“People coming to the Marketplace for coverage are active, engaged and shopping to save money,” she said. On average, people who are signed up for Marketplace coverage in Missouri as of December 26, 2015 are paying $100 per month on their premiums after tax credits.

Enroll at HealthCare.gov or CuidadoDeSalud.gov by January 31.

helping the survivors in our organization to take action and make positive decisions about their life and health. At TEN, failure is not an option; it’s not a way of life, and it’s not acceptable under any circumstance. We fight back to win!

The Empowerment Network has become a camp of friends and a safe haven of support to fight against cancer as this demon tries to possess us. We strike back and fight back with love at every opportunity and every chance we get. For more information about The Empowerment Network, visit www. TheEmpowermentNetwork.net or call, 314-385-0998.

Prostate deaths by race

Visualizing Serving Sizes

Balance

Nutrition Challenge:

One of the reasons that we might overeat is because we just don’t really recognize what a proper “portion” looks like. (Portion is the size of the serving that you put on your plate.)

Balance is an important part of physical fitness. Balance relates to how steady and straight you can hold your body while doing different activities. Practice your balance by doing the most basic balance test. Stand on one foot, hold your arms out to your side and see how long you can hold this pose. Is it harder if you close your eyes?

Only take pills (medicine) that have been given to you by your parent (or a doctor/nurse). Never take anything that is being offered by a friend just because they say it’ll make you “feel good.” Many school-aged kids die every year because their body

Healthy Kids Healthy Kids

Bread = 1 ounce = about the size of a CD case/cover

Cheese = 1.5 ounces = 4 dice

Chicken = 3 ounces = deck of cards

Fruit = 1 medium = size of a baseball

Now challenge yourself to increasingly difficult balancing actions. Try holding something heavy in one hand, leaving the other hand empty. Can you lean over (while still on one foot) and place the object on the floor? Can you stack a number of items on the floor while staying

has a bad reaction to pills that they should not be taking.

If someone offers you a pill, be sure to tell your parent or teacher. By helping to keep these pills away from others, you could be saving a life!

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

To help you visualize what those portion sizes should be, here are a few examples using items that you are very familiar with their size.

For Other Examples, Visit: http:// www.webmd.com/diet/healthtoolportion-size-plate. Try coming up with your own visual portion size ideas!

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

on just the one foot? Do you think balance can be improved with practice? Try some different balance activities for several days in a row and see if your balance gets better the more you do them.

Learning Standards: HPE 1, HPE 4, NH 1

Lighter Trail Mix

Healthcare Careers

April Mickens Jolly, Clinical Program Manager, Stroke and Cerebrovascular

Where do you work? I work at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Where did you go to school? I graduated from Governor’s School for Government and International Studies in Richmond, Virginia. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Washington University and a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Health Administration from Georgia State University.

What does a clinical program manager do? I spend time each day working with caregivers to discuss the best ways to care for our stroke patients and their families. I also create quality report cards to make sure we are on target and write business plans for future projects that will improve care for patients with brain-related conditions.

Why did you choose this career? I wanted to work in an environment where I would have a positive impact on patients and their families. There are a lot of meaningful health care administration jobs — even if you aren’t a nurse or a doctor.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I have two favorites. I love hearing about patients, who were very sick, make amazing recoveries because of how well our team worked together. And I enjoy hearing stories about staff members who went above and beyond to care for patients or help the rest of the team.

Learning Standards: HPE6, NH3

each week throughout the school year, at no charge.

Students in Justin Brotherton’s 4th grade class at Airport Elementary School learn structural design from examples found in the newspaper.

British-Nigerian Doctor and Emergency Helicopter Pilot Olamide Orekunrin

Olamide Orekunrin was born in London. Her parents were Nigerian and they chose her name based on its meaning.

An entrepreneur is a person who creates and organizes a business. Famous entrepreneurs include Oprah Winfrey, who created O Magazine, Harpo productions, Oxygen Network TV, and much more. Debbi Fields created Mrs. Fields cookies which are sold in malls and supermarkets. Henry Ford was the entrepreneur who created the assembly line and Ford Motor Company. Madame C. J. Walker was the first African-American female entrepreneur who became a millionaire in 1905 when she invented products

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Background Information:

to soften and smooth AfricanAmerican hair.

In this experiment, you will apply problem solving skills to try to move an object (or a person) across a bare floor without carrying it.

Materials Needed:

• Piece of Plywood • Marbles • Rope • Balloons

• Tape • Straws • Newspaper

Process:

q Try to move an object, without carrying it, across a room with a bare floor.

16 ounces (oz) = 1 pound 2,000 pounds = 1 ton

z Which weighs more 3 pounds of butter or 45 ounces of butter?

x If you have a 5-pound bag of flour, how many ounces of flour do you have? ________

c An average car weighs 4,000 pounds. How many tons does an average car weigh? ________

DID YOU KNOW?

Entrepreneurs need to be critical thinkers and problem solvers. They need to be able to work well with others. Entrepreneurs need to be creative, but they also need to be able to read and write well so that they can present their ideas and communicate with others. Finally, entrepreneurs need to be patient and persistent as they work to develop their product.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text for main idea and supporting detail. I can make text to world and text to text connections.

w You are only able to use the materials listed here… nothing else!

e Develop a plan and try to move your object. Revise your plan as needed.

Extension: Try to move your object across a carpeted floor. How did you need to change your strategy? Learning Standards: I can use trial and error to complete an experiment. I can make observations, analyze results, and draw conclusions.

“Ola” means “wealth” in the Nigerian language. She attended the Hull York Medical School in London, where she graduated at the young age of 21 as a medical doctor. While she was studying medicine, she was also earning her helicopter pilot license, with a specialty in aviation medicine. She earned the Japanese MEXT scholarship which allowed her to continue her studies in Tokyo, Japan.

Unfortunately, Orekunrin’s sister died due to lack of prompt medical attention. Orekunrin put her training together to form the Flying Doctors Nigeria (FDN) Limited in 2007. This was the first air ambulance service offered in West Africa. FDN offers medical evacuation services, remote site clinic management, first-aid training and other medical solutions. It saves hundreds of lives each year, especially for those working in the oil and gas industry.

She is a member of the American Academy of Aesthetic Surgeons and the British Medical Association. She is also a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians. In 2012, she received the This Day Award. One year later, she was one of the “Young Global Leaders” listed by the World Economic Forum. She has also received the Mouldbreaker’s Award, the Vanguard WOW Award, and the New Generation Leader for Africa. Orekunrin has published two medical textbooks and several medical journals and is also a TED Fellow. Orekunrin believes in charity and helping others. She works with leaders to help improve health care in Africa. She is one of the most successful business women in Lagos, Nigeria.

For more information, including links to Olamide’s blog and videos, visit: http://www.olaorekunrin.com.

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

v You can buy candy for $5.00 a pound or for 25 cents per ounce. Which is cheaper?

b Convert your weight to ounces. ________

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

MAP CORNER

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

Activity One —

Descriptive Words: Make a list of at least 15 descriptive words you find in the advertisements.

Compile a list; write two paragraphs describing something. Use as many of the words as you can.

Activity Two —

Family Entertainment Planning: Plan a family event using information from the newspaper. Maybe there is an article about an exhibit in town, or a new restaurant, or a play or movie. Use at least 3 details from the newspaper in your plan.

Learning Standards: I can use the newspaper to locate information. I can write for a specific purpose and audience. I can make text to self connections.

The St. Louis American’s award winning NIE program provides newspapers and resources to more than 7,000 teachers and students

Pictured are Jamiah Morris, Nevaeh Woods, and Aleicia Latimore. Airport Elementary is in the Ferguson-FLorissant School District. Photo by Wiley Price/ St. Louis American

Clergy Coalition Continues Petition Drive

Asking The White House to Choose North St. Louis for NGA Site

Clergy Coalition Continues Petition Drive Asking White House to Choose North St. Louis for NGA Site “We the People” Petition Drive to Get 100,000 Signatures Nationwide.

In the 1970’s, HUD demolished the PruittIgoe Housing Project in North St. Louis. Since then, North St. Louis and North St. Louis County have experienced continuous deterioration and disinvestment.

Residents of North St. Louis and North St. Louis County have suffered through these steadily worsening conditions for more than forty years, resulting in the tragedy of Ferguson, viewed by millions.

The National Geospatial Agency (NGA) needs a new headquarters and must choose between North St. Louis and a site 35 miles outside of St. Louis. Executive Order 12072 requires that we give priority to urban areas when we move federal facilities. North St. Louis and North St. Louis County are in the Promise Zone. Locating NGA in the urban core will spur unprecedented private and public investment.

The Clergy Coalition has undertaken the “We the People” petition drive for a couple of reasons. First of all, we want to reach out to President Obama. We want to send a message from the grassroots community to show that the black community in St. Louis is united and active in pursuit of the NGA West facility. We all agree that when the NGA moves to the North St. Louis site, adjacent to the old Pruitt-Igoe housing project, it will serve as a catalyst for new development throughout North St. Louis.

Just as importantly, the Coalition is taking an active leadership role locally. This issue gives the Clergy Coalition an opportunity to form an effective working relationship with other leadership entities in our region. This includes elected oficials, heads of academic institutions and inluential business and professional leaders. We need to work closely together with these individuals and groups to effectively deal with many of the important challenges facing our region.

“The St. Louis-NGA Let’s Stay Together” campaign is the irst of many such engagements.

Business

Bennett seeks to grow McCormack Baron Salazar

Seeking people with ‘passion, perspiration and IQ’ committed to developing cities

By Chris King

Of The St. Louis American

Vince Bennett has succeeded Kevin McCormack as president of McCormack Baron Salazar with the mandate to grow the development company, he told The American Previously, Bennett was chief operating officer.

“We want to grow the company around urban communities,” Bennett said, during a long conversation in a meeting room on one of the three floors its headquarters occupies in the Laclede Gas Building in downtown St. Louis. St. Louis, where Richard Baron and Terry McCormack founded the company (as McCormack Baron & Associates) in 1973, does not figure high on the list of where it’s currently expanding developments. That list does include New York City, Florida, Texas, northern California and “exciting work” in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Bennett said.

n “It’s one thing to manage large capital projects, but it’s another thing to be successful in the community.”

– Vince Bennett

The company currently has eight regional offices with developments in 40 cities and 23 states. To date, it has developed 19,417 homes and 1.4 million square feet of commercial space, with a total development investment of $3.39 billion. But the company, with 563 employees nationally, is just getting started.

“There is an ongoing need across the country for providing quality, affordable housing as the cornerstone of rebuilding cities – and now is the time for a capable leader like Vince to assume

a larger role within the firm to continue our mission and continue to grow the company,” Baron said in a statement.

Baron’s role now is chairman. His co-founder, Terry McCormack, passed in 1981. Terry’s son Kevin McCormack, who stepped down as president, has assumed the role of chief executive officer of the corporate holding company, MBA Properties. The third principal, Tony Salazar, will remain president of West Coast Operations for McCormack Baron Salazar. That company comprises four operating divisions in addition to McCormack Baron Salazar, which Bennett now heads: McCormack Baron Management, McCormack Baron Asset Management, MBS Urban Initiatives CDE (New Markets Tax Credits), and MBS Capital Corp. (acquisition and syndication).

It’s Bennett’s mandate to grow the part of

Ameren releases videos on discussing differences

Utility’s numbers on staff and contracting reflect diversity shortfalls

By Rebecca Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

If it wasn’t for the young people who led thousands to protest in the streets, corporations would not be taking major actions towards racial equality, said Rudy Nickens, the director of equal opportunity and diversity at Missouri Department of Transportation.

“Some of the things we’ve seen in the Ferguson Commission, the justice department and businesses would not have happened but for the dedicated, committed, day-after-day, nightafter-night work that these young people have led us to,” Nickens said at an Ameren Corporate Diversity Council Leadership event on January 21. As corporations now attempt to implement some of the Ferguson Commission’s 189 calls to action, those young leaders should still be engaged, he said.

“We must make sure we don’t just abandon them and use only the lens that we have,” he said. “We need their lens.”

After Nickens’ impassioned speech,

Jimmie Edwards will be inducted into the Missouri Public Affairs Hall of Fame, which recognizes citizens with a connection to Missouri who serve as examples of global citizens by defining the essence of public affairs and who have acted consistently for the benefit of others. He is a circuit court judge for the 22nd Circuit Court in Missouri, serving St. Louis, and founder of Innovative Concept Academy.

Kimberly Springer is St. Louis Public Radio’s new Engagement Producer in charge of the station’s social media. She was born in St. Louis, but raised in Michigan. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Michigan and a doctorate from Emory University. Previously she lived in London for seven years.

Karl Grice was elected chairman of the MathewsDickey Boys’ & Girls’ Club’s Board of Directors. He succeeds Rev. Earl Nance Jr., who continues to serve as a director. A Mathews-Dickey alumnus, Grice was also the architect who designed the building and has headed the Board Operations Committee for three decades. He is principal at Grice Group Architects.

Karen Jordan has joined the St. Louis Arc’s Board of Directors. She is a partner at Dentons, specializing in advising corporate clients in a wide range of corporate, public finance, corporate finance, real estate and securities transactions. St. Louis Arc provides support and services to more than 3,500 adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Douglass Petty was elected chair of the Board of Directors for the Alzheimer’s Association St. Louis Chapter. Petty currently serves as special assistant to the superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools. Petty’s other credentials include vice president of the African American Advisory Board at the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Washington University.

Ameren’s chairman, president and CEO Warner Baxter announced the company’s new, free fivepart video series called “Discussion Across Differences” on January 21.

Sandra Murdock was named an Ageless Remarkable St. Louisan by St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System. She is a retired science teacher who has dedicated her golden years to providing enriching science education experiences to underprivileged youth. Her efforts have included the development of the “Each One, Teach One” Science Project to promote science in middle schools. On the move? Congratulations! Send your good professional news and a color headshot to cking@stlamerican.

Jimmie Edwards

Karl Grice

Karen Jordan

Douglass Petty

Kimberly Springer

Sandra Murdock

See BENNETT, B6

Ron Roberts, vice president, Project Management & New Business Development for McCormack Baron Salazar, went over plans with Vince Bennett, its new president, on January 21.

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

Personal Finance

Keeping your New Year’s financial resolutions

By Nathaniel Sillin

Whether you’re talking about diet, exercise or money, keeping New Year’s resolutions is challenging. A University of Scranton researcher noted that “weight loss” is the current reigning resolution, followed by “improve finances” at No. 2.

And while the study (https://www.sharecare. com/health/healthy-newyears-resolutions/article/theresolution-solution) showed that roughly 40-46 percent were successful in their specific goal at the six-month mark, more than half gave up. Your personal finances need more dedication than that. If you want to add some fairly easy money resolutions that can help your finances overall, consider the following: Make your first budget or do a better job of reviewing the one you have. A 2013 Gallup survey reported that only onethird of Americans actually prepare a detailed household budget. Make your first resolution to create or review your household budget (http:// www.practicalmoneyskills. com/budgeting) so you know where your finances stand at all times. Budgeting involves day-to-day tracking of finances, but having a quick way to determine your net worth (http://www. practicalmoneyskills.com/ worth) – your assets minus your liabilities – offers the biggest picture of how you’re doing and what next steps you might take to improve your circumstances. Make this calculation an annual kickoff to the New Year. Having an emergency fund means you’re always ready for the unexpected. The average emergency fund generally covers three-to-six months of daily expenses – yours could be more or less. Keep in mind that the primary purpose of an emergency fund is to keep you away from savings when unexpected expenses happen.

Depending on your comfort level with all things digital, virtually every aspect of your financial life can be managed online or with computer-based software. From setting up a basic paper or online calendar to track pay dates, bill due dates and deposit dates for savings and investments, a daily series of reminders and action items will keep your money issues on time and on track.

AMEREN

continued from page B1

Ameren’s chairman, president and CEO Warner Baxter announced that they will

release a free five-part video series called “Discussion Across Differences.” Ameren and institutions across the community can use the videos in their diversity and inclusion training efforts. Each video comes with a

facilitator guide, participant booklet and presentation deck.

The Ferguson Commission identified such a resource as a signature priority, Ameren leaders said.

In one video, Amy Hunter, director of racial justice for YWCA Metro St. Louis, explores the differences in communities based on geography and experiences. In another, Kira HudsonBanks, assistant professor of psychology at Saint Louis University, looks at how an individual may think about race, racial identity or ethnicity based on conditioning and experiences. Missouri Highway Patrol Captain Ronald S. Johnson breaks

Recommit to retirement. If you’re employed or selfemployed, here’s how to make a retirement savings resolution stick. First, make sure you’re signed up for a 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan at work or a corresponding SEP-IRA, self-directed 401(k) or other self-employment retirement plan that fits your tax and financial situation. Then check what your 2016 maximum contribution (www.irs.gov)

down the word “respect” in different settings. “We believe it’s important for Ameren and the business community to continue to support the Ferguson Commission’s recommendations to build a stronger region,” Baxter said. Sharon Harvey Davis, Ameren’s vice president and chief diversity officer said, “These resources have been effective in generating productive dialogue inside our organization, and we hope they can spur similar conversations in the broader community.”

Diversity at Ameren

can improve your retirement prospects while saving you considerable money on taxes. Review your non-retirement benefits and insurance. For most employed and selfemployed people, open enrollment for health and other company benefits wrapped up before year-end. But that doesn’t mean you can’t make notes at any point in the year for possible changes and improvements to your health insurance and related tax-advantaged accounts. The same goes for reviewing your personal home, auto, life and disability coverage for potential savings and/or better coverage. Qualified advisors can help you review these choices.

Find more money to save. Whether it’s adjusting what you spend, paying off expenses or finding ways to bring in more income, saving more is one of the best financial objectives there is. The first step is to track and set spending limits – those limits will help you reset or eliminate expenses that are standing in the way of your goals.

is for your respective plan. Finally, through budgeting or a plan to bring in more income, determine how you can come as close to your maximum contribution as possible for the coming year. And of course, don’t forget about Traditional or Roth IRAs (https://www. irs.gov/Retirement-Plans/ Traditional-and-Roth-IRAs) that you can contribute to independently of work-based plans. All of these options

Ameren is a regulated monopoly for electrical service to 2.4 million electric customers and more than 900,000 natural gas customers. Within its own doors, Ameren has some work to do on diversity, and leaders say they recognize that. Baxter said that minorities make up about 10 percent of their workforce.

“When you look at the St. Louis region and Illinois, we don’t have as much diversity as we have on the coasts, but we don’t say that’s an excuse,” he said.

African Americans make up about 50 percent of population in St. Louis city, where Ameren’s headquarters is located. When asked if he feels there is not enough diversity within the city to reach the company’s diversity goals, he said, “I think there is, and what we need to do is to continue to offer programs.”

Bottom line: Making New Year’s resolutions always sounds like a good idea at the time, but keeping them requires determination, study and focus. This year, build the kind of money habits that position you for success.

Nathaniel Sillin directs Visa’s financial education programs. To follow Practical Money Skills on Twitter: www. twitter.com/PracticalMoney.

Hence it receives public scrutiny and regulation through the state’s Public Service Commission. A common argument from city and corporate leaders for not expanding minority participation in their contracts has been that the “capacity” or availability among minority businesses is not adequate. However, a recent disparity study found that St. Louis city government failed to award a fair amount of contracts to businesses owned by minorities and women from 2007 to 2012.

n “It’s important for Ameren and the business community to continue to support the Ferguson Commission’s recommendations.”

They are currently partnering with St. Louis Community College in Florissant and some high schools, he said.

– Warner Baxter, Ameren CEO

Ameren’s spending patterns is another area where their inclusion efforts fall short. Currently, the amount of dollars they are spending with minority businesses is dismal. In 2014, Ameren awarded a total of $2.2 billion dollars in contracts. Minority business enterprises (MBEs) received only about $100 million of that – or 4.6 percent.

In 2015, Ameren awarded 13 percent of its contract dollars – or $306 million – to businesses owned by minorities, women and veterans (women earning about 50 percent of that.)

This is a big increase from 2006, when Ameren was only awarding less than one percent of its contract to these businesses, leaders said.

Their procurement numbers fall significantly below the minority participation goals that Gov. Jay Nixon just signed in October. The state will now aim to award 10 percent of contract dollars to MBEs and 10 percent to WBEs.

Although Ameren in not a public entity, it is the only electrical service that city taxpayers have access to.

During that time, MBEs represented 21.18 percent of the available businesses, but they only received 6.92 percent of the prime contract dollars, the study found.

“This underutilization is statistically significant,” the study stated. In construction specifically, it found that MBEs represent 30.51 percent of the available construction businesses and received 5.42 percent of all construction prime contract dollars. Although the study was looking at city contracts and not Ameren’s, the pattern of awarding contracts to large non-minority businesses is not isolated to the city alone, the researchers said.

“When you look at the data from the disparity study, it does help us understand what capacity is,” said Byron Witherspoon, managing executive of supplier diversity at Ameren. “From a capacity standpoint, we can identify the core suppliers that we can develop.” However, he said that Ameren is “a bit more flexible” in how they implement their minority participation programs than the “public sector.” Witherspoon said he is working on “debundling” contracts, or making them smaller, so more minorities and women can compete for them. The new video series, he said, will help make those contract negotiations easier. He said, “It demystifies what this is all about.”

“You’ve got to have a lot more than just a name on a stadium.”

– Marketing professor Darrin Duber-Smith on Sports Authority struggling to pay its bills after licensing naming rights to Denver’s NFL stadium

Winter Challenge wows

Many of the top girls’ basketball programs in the state of Missouri will be competing in the Webster Winter Challenge, which begins next Tuesday night at Webster Groves. This is indeed one of the best tournaments around. How loaded is this year’s field? Incarnate Word Academy has won the last three Missouri Class 4 state titles.

Columbia Rock Bridge has won the last four Class 5 state titles.

MICDS was the Class 4 state runners-up last season. Cor Jesu Academy finished fourth in the Class 5 state tournament last season. Kirkwood advanced to the Class 5 state quarterfinals last season. Washington advanced to the Class 5 state quarterfinals last season.

Host Webster Groves has 10 wins and won the Marquette Tournament this season.

St. Joseph’s Academy is a perennial state contender in the state of Missouri.

The action begins on Tuesday, Feb. 2 with first-round games between Washington and Webster Groves at 6 p.m. and Rock Bridge and Incarnate Word at 7:30 p.m. On Wednesday, Feb. 3, first round games continue with Cor Jesu vs. Kirkwood at 6 p.m. and MICDS vs. St. Joseph’s at 7:30 p.m. The semifinals will be held on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 and 8:30 p.m. Championship day will be held on Saturday, Feb. 6. The seventhplace game will be held at noon, fifth-place game at 1:30 p.m., third-place game at 3 p.m. and the championship game at 4:30 p.m.

Some of the top players to watch next week include: Jordan Roundtree of Kirkwood (signed with Missouri), Abbey Hoff of Incarnate Word (signed with Miami of Ohio), Rachel Thompson of MICDS (signed

Hello, NBA fans. If you have been reading my column over the past 19 years, you should expect to see what has become one of my annual rituals.

It is time for that yearly reminder about the National Basketball Association team that continues to perform under the radar despite its tremendous run of success year after year.

It is time to remind everyone about that one team that seemingly re-invents itself every season to remain among the league’s elite. It is that team that is having an historical regular season heading into the All-Star break, even for this storied franchise. I can only be talking about one team. Yes, folks; that would be your San Antonio Spurs. We are in a time where it is all about the Golden State Warriors – and rightly so. The Warriors are in hot pursuit of the Chicago Bulls’ record of 72 wins in a regular-season, and the champs are doing it with style. Steph and the boys shooting it up from everywhere. Meanwhile, back in Cleveland, LeBron James and Co. are experiencing a little drama with the firing of their coach. But the Cavs still have LeBron and the best record in the East. Expect them to be back in the Finals in June. While all of this is going on, the Spurs have managed to put together its best regular-season record in franchise history at the 45-game mark. They are currently 38-7 and undefeated at home this season. Granted, loss No. 7 was a 30-point tail-kicking, courtesy of GSW, but the Spurs have served notice that they are still a major factor in the league and a championship contender. As a team, they are shooting close to 50 percent from the field and their point differential is a plus-

“It’s embarrassing for the league.” Detroit Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy wasn’t referring to the Philadelphia 76ers and their abysmal 7-39 record nor the Los Angeles Lakers and their 9-38 mark. He was referring to the firing of David Blatt by the Cleveland Cavaliers. In the words of Van Gundy, the curious move “elevated all of the coach firings totally into the theater of the absurd.” Think about it for just a second. Blatt was given the ax in just his second season at the reins, as his team sat in first place in the Eastern Conference. In his first season,

“Back

Earl Austin Jr.

Sophomore guard Jaidah Stewart of host Webster Groves is one of the top players to watch at next week’s Webster Winter Classic. The tournament, which features, eight of the state’s top programs, begins next Tuesday.

SportS EyE

With Alvin Reid

Reed demands the NFL pay off the stadium debt – seriously

Lewis Reed, St. Louis Board of Aldermen president, is demanding that the NFL pay off the debt owed on the Edward Jones Dome.

Stop laughing, I’m serious.

“In leaving St. Louis, the NFL leaves the best sports city in America holding the bag on millions in unfunded obligations on the dome that it enjoyed for two decades – a dome that was intended to host the league for the life of the 30-year lease agreement,” the letter reads.

consider $750 million in dome improvements – which could have kept the Rams in St. Louis.

Reed told FOX2 the Rams

“exploited the one clause in the lease.”

Duh.

“One of the things we did do was, we put forth a top-tier stadium,” Reed said.

“The Rams could have been perfectly happy there. The taxpayers should not be left holding the bag on the rest of this thing.”

“The financial burden of the relocation exceeds $36 million — a burden that is now unfunded by game day revenues and that will negatively impact our ability to deliver services to residents over the next decade.”

This is the same Lewis Reed who cast one of the deciding votes committing the city to $150 million toward new stadium construction. It’s the same guy who was mum when the same residents, on whose behalf he is now begging, were stripped of their voting right in regard to that stadium.

He also forgot the lease deal included a clause that the stadium had to be in the top 25 percent of all NFL stadiums. Reed was also BOA president when the Rams prevailed in an arbitration hearing, and the city flat-out refused to

The so-called top-tier stadium sat enough people to put the Rams at about 22nd in attendance – if every game were sold out. The stadium financing hinged on owner Stan Kroenke putting in at least $250 million. The taxpayers passed a bill that called for a vote on all stadium financing, and Judge Thomas Frawley tore it up and threw it in their faces.

Taxpayers are left holding the bag. They are holding you, Mayor Francis Slay and others responsible.

Yet Reed thinks the NFL should come to the rescue of the people he and city leaders ran over roughshod.

The Task Force cost the people of the region and state more than $16 million in planning a non-existent stadium.

Why don’t you ask for some of that cash back, President

Reed? At least call for hearings and trace, not just the amounts paid, but how and where it was spent by recipients. Please don’t write any more

laughable letters that amount to embarrassing the region more than it already is.

This Piggee went to market

Darryl Piggee, Cong. Wm. Lacy Clay’s former chief of staff, has since entered the private sector and was one of the beneficiaries of the Task Force’s failed stadium effort.

In July, the Post-Dispatch reported that he had been “recently” hired for $5,000 a month, to help advance a workforce inclusion initiative.

David Peacock, Gov. Jay Nixon and Bob Blitz all hailed it as transcendent. Great.

Were the goals it called for achievable in a city and region where already established minority participation goals are rarely, if ever, met?

The Post reported earlier this month that Piggee had received $75,000. At $5,000 a month that would mean that Piggee worked on the project for 15 months dating back to fall of 2014. Either the math doesn’t add up or Piggee got a

raise from the $5,000 a month first reported.

MLS effort to kick out racism

Last October, Major League Soccer (MLS) joined the Ross Initiative in Sports for Equality (RISE), a nationwide campaign to promote understanding, respect and equality.

That nation’s other major sporting leagues are part of the initiative created by Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross, who said at the RISE inaugural press conference, “The sports community is uniquely positioned and empowered to help drive national discussion and action to unite our country, promote understanding, respect and equality and advance race relations now and for the next generation.”

Less than a month later, black players on the University of Missouri football team made Ross prophetic. With St. Louis’ interest in securing a MLS franchise gaining momentum, it’s comforting to know it

Aldermanic President Lewis Reed (right) conferred with Alderman Jack Coatar when the Board of Aldermen discussed the

recognizes the nation has serious racial issues. To its further credit, MLS launched its “Don’t Cross the Line” initiative to combat racism, harassment and discriminatory behavior in 2012.

Thank goodness Tom lost I’ll have more to say on the Super Bowl next week, but let me say I’m relieved that Tom Brady and New England Patriots didn’t reach the Super Bowl.

ESPN’s Bomani Jones explained it best when he said last week that if Brady played against Cam Newton, “it would be the best (media) week since the Jerry Cooney vs. Larry Holmes fight.” Folks, it would have been black vs. white, good vs. evil, the Black Panthers vs. America’s Patriots. Denver and Carolina’s respective helmet logos, though, are a white bronco and a black panther.

Alvin Reid

n Reed told FOX2 the Rams “exploited the one clause in the lease.” Duh.

NFL stadium financing bill on December 15.

Photo by WIley Price

Continued from B3

13, which is very impressive.

The old standbys are still in place, with Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili doing their thing despite being well into their thirties. However, the mantle has been officially passed to small forward Kawhi Leonard, who has blossomed into one of the league’s finest players. Leonard will be a starter at the upcoming NBA All-Star Game in Toronto. The league’s reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Leonard is also averaging 20 points a game while shooting 50 percent from the field. He is a fullfledged star.

The Spurs rarely hit the free-agent market in the off-season, but they hit the jackpot last summer when they lured perennial All-Star power forward LaMarcus Aldridge from Portland. He has been a stud inside while forming a formidable inside combination Big Fundamentals. Veteran Danny Green is still one of the league’s best catch-and-shoot threats.

San Antonio has also fortified its bench to become one of the deepest teams in the league. Boris Diaw is that veteran combo forward who can score and pass. Ginobili and Patty Mills bring offensive firepower, while veteran David West can still get it done. Youngsters Kyle Anderson, Jonathan Simmons and huge center Boban Marjanovic are also getting into the act.

Of course, pulling all of the strings is future Hall of Fame coach Greg Popovich, the best in the business.

At this point, one would be crazy not to install Golden State as the favorites to repeat because of the level they are playing at right now. However, should they slip up just a little, there is one team out there poised and ready to re-take their place on the top of the mountain. That would be your San Antonio Spurs.

CLUTCH

Continued from B3 finding his way in that regards. Still, he was winning. Recent years have shown though, that simply isn’t enough. The worst thing that ever could’ve happened to NBA coaches was for the Warriors to win the title last season. Why? It was Steve Kerr’s first season at the helm. He replaced Mark Jackson who was canned after winning 51 games in the 2013-14 season. The Warriors made things worse when Kerr was sidelined for several months after back surgery and interim coach Luke Walton helped lead the Warriors to the best start in NBA history. Maybe Blatt was fired because he didn’t go 24-0 too. Blatt wasn’t the only questionable coach firing, of course.

Former Houston Rockets coach Kevin McHale was boot-

PREP

Continued from B3 with Colgate), Taylor Baur of MICDS (Princeton), Kyra Hardesty of Washington, Kristina Schmelter of Cor Jesu, Jaidah Stewart of Webster Groves and many, many more. A couple of top players who are on the mend from injuries are Kirkwood High standout Lauryn Miller and sophomore K.K. Rodriguez of Webster Groves.

Jennings is on a roll

Winning is nothing new at Jennings High, but the Warriors are quietly putting together an outstanding season is 2016. The Warriors are currently 15-2 after recently winning the championship of the Denver Miller Tournament at Kirkwood. Jennings is led by 6’2” senior point guard Darius Rice, who is averaging 17.4 points, 5.4 assists and 3.8 steals a game. Senior guard Bobby Sanders averages 11.8 points while being one of the area’s top defensive players. Junior forward Rajae Johnson is averaging 10.8 points and team-high 8.3 rebounds a

ed out of the building after just 11 games even though he led them to the Western Conference Finals last season. The Cavs fired Mike Brown in 2010 after a 61-win season, just one year removed from being named NBA Coach of the Year. At the time the move was seen as an effort to keep James in Cleveland. It failed. Cleveland’s firing of Blatt will fail too. I’m sorry, but essentially allowing James to pick his own coach in Tyronn Lue won’t result in a championship this season. There is almost always an adjustment period and learning curve whenever teams bring in new coaches or new star players. Lue and the Cavs will have to adjust midseason, on-thefly. Getting rid of Blatt didn’t immediately solve the Cavs chemistry issues either. Love has always seemed like an outsider in the Cleveland and once again the trade rumors are roaring. Lue didn’t waste

game. Senior forward Tahj Welch is averaging 9.5 points while senior forward Richard Keeper averages 7.6 points and 6.3 rebounds.

Carte’are Gordon on the move

Standout sophomore forward Carte’are Gordon has left Vianney High and has transferred to Webster Groves, his home district school. The 6’8” Gordon is one of the nation’s top players in the Class of 2018. He has already received numerous Division I scholarship offers from schools such as Kansas, Missouri, Saint Louis, Cincinnati, UNLV and many others. In 16 games at Vianney, Gordon averaged 19.9 points, 12.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.6 blocks a game. As a freshman, he led the Golden Griffins to a district championship and a berth in the Class 5 sectional playoffs.

Jason Draggs impacts “The View”

Senior Jason Draggs recently became eligible to play at Riverview Gardens and the 6’9” forward is making an immediate impact. The Rams have won all four games since

any time taking shots at his team by claiming that Love and Irving need to focus less on their brands and more on winning. While some believe that Lue will hold James accountable, something that Blatt apparently didn’t do, you can color me a skeptic. After all, James has one of the most meticulously guarded brands in sports and Lue was crickets when it came to his superstar. Lue understands that he’s only the coach because it’s what James wanted and he’ll be hesitant to bite the hands that feed him. Now the read around the league on James is that he’s a coach killer. The four-time NBA MVP helped push Blatt, Brown and Paul Silas out in Cleveland. According to Miami Heat minority owner Raanan Katz, James tried to get Erik Spoelstra fired in Miami. However, Spoelstra was hand-picked by Pat Riley and unlike anybody in Cleveland, Riley had the juice

Draggs entered the lineup. He is averaging 15 points a game while giving the Rams rebounding and shot-blocking in the post. Draggs last played in 2014 as a sophomore at St. Charles, but sat out last season at Madison Prep and North Tech before finding a home at Riverview. He is one of the most talented forwards in the area.

Big Friday night games

There are a couple of big showdowns on tap for Friday night on both sides of the river. On the Missouri side, SLUH will visit Webster Groves in a big showdown between two of the area’s top teams. It is a rematch of last year’s district championship game, which was won the Junior Billikens at the buzzer. Both teams are young and very talented. It should be a good one at Roberts Gym.

On the Illinois side, Carbondale will visit Belleville Althoff is a big South Seven Conference Showdown. Althoff is coming off the championship of the Belleville Challenge last weekend. The Crusaders are one of the top teams in the state of Illinois. Carbondale is one of the top teams in Southern Illinois.

to say no to King James. As long as Cleveland continues to bend over backwards for James, they’ll continue to be in the backseat when it comes to winning it all. To make matters worse, top flight coaches will not avoid Cleveland like the plague.

Clutch or Nah?

Clutch: Shoutout to Peyton Manning the Denver Broncos defense for sending Tom Brady and the Cheatriots back home. Though I have vowed not to watch a second of playoff football after the NFL played STL to the left, Cam Newton vs Manning in the Super Bowl is an enticing matchup. Knowing that Brady will be watching from home makes it even more sweet.

Clutch: Big ups to heralded boxing training and Knockouts owner Kevin Cunningham, who will join Premier Championship Boxing’s BounceTV commentating crew starting on Jan. 31. Cunningham will join

Brandon Jackson

Fran Charles and Austin “No Doubt” Trout Follow Ishmael and In

the Clutch on Twitter @ IshmaelSistrunk

The old standbys are still in place, with Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili doing their thing despite being well into their thirties. However, the mantle has been officially passed to small forward Kawhi Leonard, who has blossomed into one of the league’s finest players.

BENNETT

continued from page B1

the company that advances its original mission of community building through urban development around a basis of mixed-income residential properties. Integral to that growth strategy is talent acquisition.

“It’s my job to identify and recruit talent to grow our leadership team that will take in this expansion,” Bennett said. He is looking for “three key variables,” he said, as he looks for that talent: “passion, perspiration and IQ.”

The “passion” that qualifies someone to work for the firm is “a strong interest in working in urban neighborhoods,” Bennett said. In terms of skill sets, he is recruiting senior project developers and professionals with strong backgrounds in finance and economic development.

Over the years, the company has leveraged $145 million in private foundation and corporation investment and received $742 million in federal grants, as well as $275 million in New Markets Tax Credits, so its senior staff must be able to work well at the upper echelons of investment, both private and public. But all of this funding is leveraged to develop the urban core, where the participation of residents is essential to project success, so Bennett needs people who can put their boots on the ground in the city.

“We need people with strong community understanding and communication skills,” Bennett said. “Our most important focus, ultimately, is families and children. It’s one thing to manage large capital projects, but it’s another thing to be successful in the community, particularly with a focus on families and children, which we need to do more in this country – and, particularly, in this region.”

It’s a puzzle why McCormack Baron Salazar has had less success leveraging public/private partnerships to

develop projects in its own home city. The company website lists 37 projects in St. Louis, with ongoing revitalization efforts in Arlington Grove and on North Sarah, but nothing of the scale of its HUD Hope VI/Choice Neighborhoods projects in Atlanta, New Orleans and San Francisco.

Bennett sees new hope in St. Louis city and county government collaborating to secure federal Promise Zone classification for a swath of north city and county –something he encouraged regional leaders to pursue. He sees the success of their application as a step in overcoming the regional

n “Now is the time for a capable leader like Vince to assume a larger role within the firm to continue our mission and continue to grow the company.”

– Richard Baron

fragmentation that hampers development in so many ways.

“We broke down the silos a little,” Bennett said. “We’re learning how to work with the federal government in a postearmarks era. It really requires public/private/community partnerships. The communities that show those kinds of partnerships will receive the transformative resources.”

Bennett also thinks St. Louis needs to learn from its unsuccessful – and costly –pursuit of resources to finance a new stadium for an NFL franchise that didn’t want to stay here.

“As a region, we need to try to solve not just complicated problems, like how to finance a new football stadium, but complex problems, such as poverty,” Bennett said.

The footprint of the St. Louis Promise Zone is a good place to start. “With North St. Louis and Wellston, our Promise Zone has some

of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the state,” Bennett said. “We have an opportunity to focus on that area and create a blueprint for what needs to happen in this region and this country.”

Bennett moved to St. Louis with the company 20 years ago. He first joined McCormack Baron Salazar in 1993, when he was hired to serve as a project manager for a mixed-income development in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. An Alfred P. Sloane Fellowship to Carnegie Mellon University attracted him to Pittsburgh from California, where he studied economics and psychology at the state university in Santa Cruz.

He and his wife, Christina Bennett, still consider California home, though Bennett grew up in a military family and has now lived in St. Louis more than he has lived any other place.

While not blind to its problems, which are now known nationally, thanks to Ferguson, Bennett appreciates the region and especially the city and its neighborhoods. His family lives in the Central West End and worships in the city at St. Alphonsus Liguori “Rock” Church on North Grand. But he knows St. Louis has a long way to go, because his children and their friends tell him so. His daughter is a freshman at Ohio State University, and when he overhears her talk to her friends about their future plans, not one of them includes St. Louis.

“We are looking to create a place in St. Louis – we’re not there yet – where our children want to stay in St. Louis,” Bennett said. “Our company can bring talent and technical ability, but that doesn’t define community. Community requires passion and pride. I see people coming up and owning the redevelopment and improvement of their communities. We have the wherewithal to come together and solve our complex problems if we really want to. It’s time for us to do that.”

For more information, visit www.mccormackbaron.com.

Fourth showing for ‘Good Negroes’ art exhibit

On display

through

February at Webster Groves Christian Church

By Willis Ryder Arnold

Of St. Louis Public Radio

A visual arts exhibit provocatively titled “Good Negroes” is challenging viewers’ thoughts about racial inequality in the St. Louis region.

Organizers said the show criticizes the titular concept and the notion that blacks and African Americans should be happy and complacent despite experiencing racial inequalities. Featuring the paintings, drawings and photography of four local artists and educators, the show pushes viewers to confront the discomfort they feel with the idea of the - good Negro” and why they feel that way.

Najjar Abdul-Musawwir, a professor of art and art history at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale and one of the featured artists, said he too responded strongly when the project was initially proposed.

“This type of shockwave went through me, which had me thinking about all the racism that we have endured in the history of this country,” he said.

Show curator Terrell Carter is a former St. Louis police officer and adjunct instructor at St. Louis Community College, who wanted to address regional racial divides highlighted after the shooting death

Abdul-Musawwir said the show’s popularity stems from the same frustration with political and social circumstances that inspired the project. He said people are incredulous that so little progress on racial issues has been made.

Sisters in soul

Building a musical dynasty in the Midwest

Tony Thompson looks to create ‘Motown of St. Louis’ with TBeats

By Kenya Vaughn

The St. Louis American

“We have a lot of talent here, but the perception is that you have to go across the country to New York or L.A. to really get a good sound and make it,” Tony Thompson said. “Well, Detroit proved that not to be true, Philadelphia proved that not to be true, Atlanta and all of those other places – so why not St. Louis?” Thompson had a glow about him as he sat in the conference room of TBeats Studios to discuss the resources he’s pouring into his passion for music.

“Whenever he comes up with ideas he always aims for the stars,” Tony’s son, Michael Thompson, said. “So when he started with the idea of TBeats, he started off talking about Grammys and everything like that.” Michael, a recent graduate of Maryville University, is working with

his dad on the marketing and social media side of TBeats.

In less than five years, Tony has grown TBeats from a basement studio to a full-fledged state-of-the-art space that takes up the entire fourth floor of the downtown building that houses the business offices of Kwame Building Group.

TBeats the studio expanded to TBeats Entertainment, a record label featuring four artists that Tony is grooming. Through his “Live Your Dream” initiative, Tony has plucked talented teens out of high school and given them a leg up with TBeats –including a headlining concert at the Sheldon, opportunities to open for major recording artists and a scholarship to pursue their artistry on a university level.

“I want to soak up everything so that I can produce the best music and just give the best that I have to give because I know how fortunate I am,”

Metro Theater Company’s production of “And In This Corner….Cassius Clay” will play at the Missouri History Museum February 12-28.

Metro Theater brings Idris Goodwin’s Cassius Clay drama to History Museum By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

“Muhammad Ali for all intents and purposes was a living black superhero – one of the first living black superheroes,” said playwright Idris Goodwin.

n “You know how there’s a ‘Batman Begins’? Well, this is like ‘Ali Begins.’”

– Idris Goodwin

“And you know how there’s a ‘Batman Begins’? Well, this is like ‘Ali Begins.’” For the second half of Black History Month (February 12-28) the Missouri History Museum will host Metro Theater Company’s staging of “And In This Corner … Cassius Clay,” Goodwin’s play about the formative years of the man who would become Muhammad Ali.

The play was originally produced by Stage One – who partnered up with the Ali Center and the Ali Museum in Ali’s hometown of Louisville, Kentucky.

“A lot of people don’t know that story,” Goodwin said. “A lot of See PLAY, C4

Of

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

Tony Thompson with his TBeats Entertainment production team and artists in the studio in downtown St. Louis.

said Briana Elise Brown. She was 16 when she started working with Tony. Now she’s a 20-year-old music major at Webster University.

“We’ve done all of this amazing stuff together and look back and be like, ‘Wow, I really grew up with See TBEATS, C4

Photo by Willis Ryder Arnold / St. Louis Public Radio

Former St. Louis police officer Terrell Carter curated and contributed pieces to the “Good Negroes” show.

of Michael Brown Jr. by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. The exhibit was first displayed at SLCC’s Forest Park and Wildwood campuses. So far, the show has been hosted by four different venues in less than a year. It is currently on view in the halls, entryway and sanctuary at the Webster Groves Christian Church.

Photo by John Scott

Singers Kelly Justice, Tish Haynes-Keys and Katrina Reese blended their voices for harmonies in homage to girl groups of the past and present – with a particular nod to 90s music – at a special edition of Soul Searching Monday night at BB’s Jazz, Blues and Soups.

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.

black history activities

Sat., Jan. 30, 1 p.m., MLK: A Call to Conscience, St. Louis Public Library – Central Branch, 1301 Olive St. For more information, call (314) 241-2288.

Sat., Jan. 30, 3 p.m., Afro World presents A Black History Gospel Celebration, 7276 Natural Bridge Rd. For More information, call (314) 389-5194.

February 1, 6 p.m., Pilot Pruitt and Soaring with other Sumner Alums, Come learn more about some of the high-flying alumni of Sumner High School – Wendell O. Pruitt of the Tuskegee Airmen, Roscoe Robinson Jr. of the U.S. Army an Edward Bouchet, Ph.D., Craft model airplanes, learn about the physics of a good paper airplane and discover more about these famous St. Louis men. St. Louis Public Library – Carpenter Branch 3309 S. Grand Blvd. For more information, call (314) 7715450.

Feb. 1-Feb. 28, African American Inventions Exhibit, St. Louis County Library – Thornhill Branch, 12863 Willowyck Drive. For more information, visit www.slcl. org/black-history-celebration.

Mon., Feb. 1, 6:30 p.m., Discovery Club: African American Scientists and Inventors, St. Louis County Library – Indian Trails Branch, 8400 Delport Dr. For more information, visit www.slcl. org/black-history-celebration.

Tues., Feb. 2, 1 p.m. Central Cinema presents Black History Month with a screening of Freedom Riders, Auditorium, St. Louis Public Library – Central Branch, 1301 Olive St. For more information, call (314) 7715450.

Tues., Feb. 2, 4:30 p.m., Art and Soul, St. Louis County Library – Eureka Hills Branch, 156 Eureka Towne Center. For more information, visit www.slcl.org/black-historycelebration.

Tues., Feb. 2, 7 p.m. African Percussion, St. Louis County Library – Thornhill Branch, 12863 Willowyck Drive. For more information, visit www.slcl.org/black-historycelebration.

Wed., Feb. 3, 4 p.m., Snack Time Around The World: A Taste of African Heritage, St. Louis County Library – Thornhill Branch, 12863 Willowyck Drive. For more information, visit www.slcl. org/black-history-celebration.

Wed., Feb. 3, 4 p.m., Black History Month School Spirit, St. Louis Public Library –Central Branch, 1301 Olive St. For more information, call (314) 771-5450.

Wed., Feb. 3, 6 p.m., Indie Lens Pop-Up presents The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. Director Stanley Nelson tells the vibrant story of a pivotal movement that feels timely all over again. Informational tables will be open at 6 p.m., with the film screening and discussion starting at 7 p.m. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www. mohistory.org.

Wed., Feb. 3, 6:30 p.m., A Taste of African Heritage, St. Louis County Library –Lewis and Clark Branch, 9909 Lewis-Clark Blvd. For more information, visit www.slcl. org/black-history-celebration.

Thurs., Feb. 4, 3 p.m., Creative Kids: African American Quilt Board, St. Louis Public Library – Julia Davis Branch, 4415 Natural Bridge. For more information, call (314) 771-5450.

Calendar

State of Emergency III starring Lil Wayne. See CONCERTS for details.

Featured Event

Sat., Feb. 6, 10 a.m., St. Louis Public Library presents Dred Scott and the Sacred Sanctuaries. Join Lynne Jackson, great-great granddaughter of Dred Scott, as we celebrate Black History Month. Ms Jackson will discuss Dred Scott’s life and times. Buder Branch, 4401 Hampton Ave., 63109. For more information, call (314) 352-2900 or visit www.slpl.org.

(See MLK Day Activities)

Thurs., Feb. 4, 7 p.m., St. Louis Public Library presents Black History Month Featured Discussion with New York Times

Bestselling Author Andrea Davis Pinkney, St. Louis Public Library-Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave. For more information, call (314) 771-5450.

Sat., Feb. 6, 10 a.m., St. Louis Public Library presents Dred Scott and the Sacred Sanctuaries. Join Lynne Jackson, great-great granddaughter of Dred Scott, as we celebrate Black History Month. Ms Jackson will discuss Dred Scott’s life and times and his significance in local, regional and national African American history. Particular attention will be paid to the Old Courthouse in St. Louis where the infamous Dred Scott decision was handed down. Buder Branch, 4401 Hampton Ave., 63109. For more information, call (314) 352-2900 or visit www. slpl.org.

Fri., Feb. 12, 7:30 p.m., St. Louis Symphony presents Lift Every Voice: Black History Month Celebration with Larnelle Harris. Join us as we commemorate the legacy of African-American art, music, culture and community. 718 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, call (314) 533-2500 or visit www. stlsymphony.org

concerts

Sat., Jan. 30, 8 p.m., Sheldon Concert Hall presents Billy Childs: Map to the Treasure with guests Becca Stevens and Alicia Olatuja. Grammywinning pianist and composer Billy Childs pays homage to the great singer-songwriter Laura Nyro. With her blend of Broadway-inspired melodies, jazz and socially-conscious lyrics, Nyro enjoyed a string of soulful pop hits that continues to resonate today. 3648 Washington Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 533-9900 or visit www. thesheldon.org.

Sat., Feb. 6, 8 p.m., Jazz St. Louis welcomes Gregory Porter, The Touhill Performing Arts Center, UMSL. For more information visit www.touhill.org.

Sun., Feb. 7, 2 p.m., Friends of Scott Joplin presents Pianist Jeff Barnhart in Concert. Legendary pianist Jeff Barnhart brings his own interpretations of great Stride, Blues and Ragtime tunes back to the city where it all began. Scott Joplin House State Historic Site, 2658 Delmar, 63103. For more information, call (314) 629-4510 or visit www.friendsofscottjoplin.org.

Sat., Feb. 13, 7 p.m., St. Louis Music Festival starring Fantasia, Joe and Maze

Featuring Frankie Beverly. For more information, visit www.thechaifetzarena.com

Feb. 17 – 20, Jazz at the Bistro presents Marcus Roberts Trio. The Marcus Roberts Trio is known for its virtuosic style and entirely new approach to jazz trio performance. 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.jazzstl. org.

Fri., Feb. 19, 8 p.m., Sheldon Concert Hall presents Ruthie Foster with special guest Bottom Up Blues Gang. Ruthie Foster was born in the small rural town of Gause, TX. Raised in a family of gospel singers, Ruthie irst learned to sing during worship services at her community church. With a chapel-bred bravado trained on the works of powerful women such as Mavis Staples and Aretha Franklin, her sound grew into an inspired blend of blues, folk and gospel. 3648 Washington Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 533-9900 or visit www. thesheldon.org.

Sun., Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Chaifetz Arena presents State of Emergency III starring Lil Wayne. 1 South Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. thechaifetzarena.com.

Feb. 28, 8 p.m., Gary Clark Jr. - The Story of Sonny Boy Slim Tour, The Pageant, 6161 Delmar. For more information, visit www.thepageant.com, www.ticketmaster.com or call (314) 726-6161.

local gigs

Jan. 27 – 28, Jazz at the Bistro presents Ptah Williams Quartet Williams is St. Louis’s most revered pianist. He has performed with Freddie Hubbard, George Benson, James Moody, and many other household names of jazz throughout his career. 3536 Washington Ave., 63103. For more information, call (314) 571-6000 or visit www.jazzstl.

org. Sat., Feb. 6, 3 p.m., Education 4 All presents Mid-Day Mini Jazz Concert & Fundraiser feat. Ron Wilkinson. 20 S. Sarah St., 63108. For more information, call (314) 397-8757

Thur., Feb. 18, 6:30 p.m., Not So Quiet! Concert Series presents David Dee & The Hot Tracks Considered by many to be the reigning blues king of St. Louis, Dee has earned the title as bandleader, song writer, guitarist, entertainer, and singer through 40 plus years of road work, recording and performing. Central Library, 1301 Olive St., 63103. For more information, call (314) 2412288 or visit www.slpl.org.

special events

Fri., January 29, 7 p.m., Jack Daniel’s Honey Art, Beats & Lyrics , NEO on Locust (2801 Locust St.)

Sun., Jan. 31, 6:30 p.m., Lyrical Therapy and Model Ja’Ve present Xpressions Introducing a fashion meets spoken word runway show.

Third Degree Glass Factory, 5200 Delmar Blvd., 63108.

Sat., Feb. 6, Chaifetz Arena hosts Disney Live! Mickie and Minnie’s Doorway to Magic. Join Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse and the comical duo of Donald and Goofy as 25 of your favorite Disney characters surprise and captivate at every turn of the knob! See the Fairy Godmother transform Cinderella’s rags into a beautiful ball gown in a split second; the Toy Story gang defy the dimensions of Andy’s toy box with the help of the green army men; and the spectacular stage debut of Rapunzel and Flynn Rider as they rise into the sky amidst the loating lanterns. With special appearances by Snow White, Tinker Bell and Aladdin’s Genie, you never know what to expect or who might join in the fun. 1 South Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www. thechaifetzarena.com.

Sat., Feb. 6, 7 p.m., William G. Harris Funeral Directors present Mardi Gras Bash feat. Dirty Muggs. The Ambassador, 9800 Halls Ferry Rd., 63136. For more information, call (314) 302-3630 or visit www. mcgeegents.eventbrite.com.

Feb. 6 – Mar. 27, Missouri Botanical Gardens hosts 2016 Orchid Show: Where the Wild things Grow. Approximately 500 orchids are on display at any one time. 4344 Shaw Blvd., 63110.For more information, visit www. mobot.org.

Fri., Feb. 19, 5:30 p.m., The Magic House hosts Free Family Night. Some of the best things in life are free. These special nights enable a family (no more than two adults and four of their own children) to enjoy more than 100 hands-on exhibits in the museum at no charge. Reservations are not required. 516 S. Kirkwood Rd., 63122. For more information, visit www.magichouse.org.

Sat., Feb. 20, 11 a.m., Sheldon Concert Hall & Art Galleries in Grand Center presents The Onyx Bridal Affair. Designed to place the spotlight on the multicultural bride and groom. 3648 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. thesheldon.org or call (314) 534-1111.

Sat., Feb. 20, 8 p.m., The Fox Theatre hosts AC2: An Intimate Evening With Andy Cohen & Anderson Cooper Deep Talk and Shallow Tales. It’s a live, interactive look behind the scenes of pop culture and world events. 527 N. Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, call (314) 534-1111 or (314) 534-1678.

Jan. 28 – 31, Helium Comedy Club presents Arnez J. 1155 St. Louis Galleria, 63117. For more information, visit www. st-louis.heliumcomedy.com.

Sat., Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m. & 9:30 p.m., The Lumiere Casino welcomes George Wallace, Lumiere Live. For more information, visit www. ticketmaster.com.

Fri., Feb. 26 8 p.m., The

Chaifetz Arena presents Katt

Williams: The Conspiracy Tour. 1 South Compton Ave., 63103. For more information, visit www.thechaifetzarena. com.

literary

Tues., Feb. 2, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts authors John Wright, Sr., John Wright, Jr. and Curtis Wright, Sr., authors of African American St. Louis 399 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 367-6731 or visit www. left-bank.com.

Thur., Feb. 4, 7 p.m., Maplewood Public Library hosts authors John and Sylvia Wright, authors of Extraordinary Black Missourians 7550 Lohmeyer Ave., 63143. For more information, call (314) 781-2174 or visit www. maplewood.lib.mo.us.

Thur., Feb. 4, 6:30 p.m., St. Louis Public Library hosts author Andrea Davis Pinkney, author of Boycott Blues: How Rosa Parks Inspired a Nation and The Red Pencil. Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 367-4120 or visit www.slpl. org.

Tues., Feb. 9, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library hosts author Chinelo Okparanta, author of Under the Udala Trees Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131. For more information, call (314) 994-3300 or visit www.slcl.org.

Fri., Feb. 19, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library Foundation hosts authors Frankie Muse Freeman and Koran Bolden. Together, Freeman and Bolden will discuss the Civil Rights movement and discrimination issues, past and present. Library Headquarters, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 63131. For more information, call (314) 994-3300 or visit www.slcl. org.

theatre

Through Jan. 31, The Black Rep presents Sunset Baby. Kenyatta Shakur is alone. His wife has died, and now this former Black Revolutionary and political prisoner is desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Edison Theatre, Washington University, 6445 Forsyth Blvd., 63130. For

more information, call (314) 534-3807 or visit www. theblackrep.com.

Feb. 12 – 28, Metro Theatre Company presents And in This Corner…Cassius Clay. Based on the early life of Muhammad Ali in Jim Crow Louisville, the play tells the story of a young man who believes his potential is unlimited despite the segregation and racism he is surrounded by. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, call (314) 9327414 or visit www.metroplays. org.

Through Jan. 31, The Black Rep presents Sunset Baby. Kenyatta Shakur is alone. His wife has died, and now this former Black Revolutionary and political prisoner is desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Edison Theatre, Washington University, 6445 Forsyth Blvd., 63130. For more information, call (314) 534-3807 or visit www. theblackrep.com.

Feb. 12 – 13, Black Anthology presents Woke. Black Anthology was founded in 1989 to provide a means of commemorating the history and progress of African Americans. Since its creation, the program was totally student run, from the script to set and costume design. Edison Theatre, Washington University, 6445 Forsyth Blvd., 63130. For more information, call (314) 9356543 or visit www.edison. wustl.edu.

Feb. 20 – 21, COCA presents Three Little Birds. Based on the known and loved reggae music of Bob Marley, join the fun of this musical, which has been adapted from the children’s book “Three Little Birds” by Cedella Marley. An empowering tale about triumph over anxiety, the musical’s young protagonist, Ziggy, must ind a way to leave the house despite a fear of hurricanes, mongooses and other things in his native Jamaica. 524 Trinity Ave., 63130. For more information, call (314) 7256555 or visit www.cocastl.org.

Saturdays, Through Feb. 27, 11:30 a.m., Teens Make History presents Looking for Dunham. It’s a slow news day for the paper’s entertainment reporters when rumors that the great Katherine Dunham is in town start to circulate. Will they ind Miss Dunham before the TV journalists get the scoop? Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd.,

63112. For more information, visit www.mohistory.org.

arts

Through Jan. 30, St. Louis Public Library presents African-Americans’ Journey to Islam. The exhibit features four, large colorful panels that detail how AfricanAmericans became involved in the Muslim community. Walnut Park Branch, 5760 W. Florissant Ave., 63120. For more information, call (314) 383-1210 or visit www.slpl. org.

Through Mar. 13, COCA presents Carl Richards: Money. Visualized. Carl Richards, author and creator of the weekly “Sketch Guy” column in the New York Times, makes complex financial concepts easy to understand through his elegantly simple sketches. This interactive installation invites visitors to create sketches, notes, and diagrams charting their own goals and realities. There will be an opening on Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. 524 Trinity Ave., 63130. For more information, call (314) 7256555 or visit www.cocastl.org.

Through March 2016, PulitzerArts Foundation hosts Kota: Digital Excavations in African Art The exhibition examines a new digital database created by Belgian computer engineer and independent researcher Frederic Cloth to study and reveal the hidden histories of Kota reliquaries. Featuring nearly ifty of these guardian igures, visitors will go through a visual process to detect groupings and similarities between the sculptures that will enhance understanding

of their origins, creation, and function—information that has largely been considered lost. 3716 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www.pulitzerarts.org.

lectures/

workshops

Sat., Jan. 30, 9 a.m., Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis presents Financial Planning Day 2016. Don’t miss out on this free, private consultation with an expert on a wide variety of personal finance issues. 8960 Jennings Station Rd., 63136. For more information or to RSVP, call (314) 506-5337 or visit www. ulstl.com.

Mon., Feb. 1, 1:15 p.m., Missouri History Museum presents From Michael Brown’s Death to 2016: Looking Back to Move Forward. 5700 Lindell Blvd., 63112. For more information, visit www.mohistory.org.

Sat., Feb. 6, 9 a.m., The Scholarship Foundation of St. Louis presents FAFSA Completion Clinic. We are continuing our series of free financial aid workshops for

students and their families to understand how to navigate applying for financial aid. The clinic will offer individualized, one-on-one, 30-minute appointments to help with FAFSA completion. 8215 Clayton Rd., 63117. For more information, call (314) 7257990 or visit www.sfstl.org.

health

Mon., Jan. 25, 5:30 p.m., St. Louis Public Library presents New Year Success: Healthy Eating Tips. Come out for a discussion of healthy eating. Learn about the do’s and don’ts of eating healthy. Buder Branch, 4401 Hampton Ave., 63109. For more information, call (314) 771-7040 or visit www.slpl.org.

Sat., Feb. 6, 6 p.m., Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital presents Heart & Soul. Join us for a night out to celebrate Heart Month benefiting the children and families served by the Dorothy and Larry Dallas Heart Center. This evening will feature a dueling piano performance, an auction, culinary delights by Executive Chef Nick Miller, and more. Bissinger’s, 1600 N. Broadway, 63102. For more

information, call (314) 6786639 or visit www.glennon.org/ heartandsoul.

Sat, February 13, 10 a.m., Health, Healing and Hip Hop Showcase! For more information, visit getfitcrewstl. org or call 314-384-2362.

spiritual

Jan. 29 – 30, Victory Christian Outreach Church presents Couples Ministry Marriage Conference: New Year, New Me, New Us. All married or engaged couples, and singles contemplating marriage are welcome. 7091 Olive Blvd., 63130. For more information, call (314) 7262009 or visit www.victorystl. com.

Mon. & Thur., Feb. 2 –Mar. 31, 9 a.m., AARP Tax Assistance. Eligible Seniors may call the AARP tax help line and schedule an appointment for free tax preparation assistance. St. Louis Public Library, Buder Branch, 4401 Hampton Ave., 63109. For more information or to register, call (314) 525-1660.

Tues. & Fri., Feb. 2 – Apr. 15, 10 a.m., AARP Tax Aide. We will provide free tax preparation assistance throughout this tax season by appointment only. St. Louis Public Library, Julia Davis Branch, 4415 Natural Bridge Ave., 63115. For more information or to register, call (314) 525-1660.

Mon. at 3:30 p.m. & Sat. at 9 a.m., Feb. 6 – Apr. 11, University of Missouri St. Louis hosts Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. St. Louis Public Library, Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 367-4120 or visit www.slpl.org.

St. Louis Symphony presents Lift Every Voice: Black History Month Celebration with Larnelle Harris For more information, see BLACK HISTORY MONTH ACTIVITIES.

Continued from C1

TBeats in my corner,’” Brown said. “We’re not done growing and I know we’re gonna make it big – all of us, the whole team.”

Team TBeats also includes singer Gabbii, who also attends Webster University, and rappers Kingpin and Marty Griptite.

“He just backs us 100 percent,” Gabbii said. “I don’t know how to repay him except for continuing to grow towards becoming a great artist. And I really don’t know how to express my gratitude. We’re really just a family.” Kingpin, a native of Charleston, Missouri, came to the TBeats open house in late 2014 and followed up with Tony via e-mail.

“I’m from a place where you don’t really have a lot of opportunities,” he said, “so to come up here and have somebody believe in you is definitely an amazing feeling.”

They were all on hand Friday afternoon as TBeats welcomed Andre Delano, a nationally-renowned musician who recently left R&B singer

Maxwell’s horn section to pursue a solo career. He was in the studio working with Gabbii and a jazz singer named Phyllis, who came all the way from Seattle to record at TBeats.

“It’s one thing to have talent, but it’s another thing to have production and have the product come out of the

n

program was a turning point.

“They selected 15 people from around the world to go to France for 10 days to study under Young Guru – Jay Z’s producer,” Tony said. “When I was selected, that was another validation. Then when I got there, I realized that I was the worst person in the room. All of these people who do

“What do we have to lose by trying something different than the capitalist model? We need to have independence and freedom to have a certain level of creativity.”

– Tony Thompson

front end. TBeats will be an artist-owned company. They will be allocated shares over each year so that ultimately they will own the company.

“People may call it foolish, they may call it socialist, they may call it whatever, but what do we have to lose by trying something different than the capitalist model?” Tony said. “We need to have independence and freedom to have a certain level of creativity. We want to create an opportunity for people to live their dreams.”

city,” Tony said. “That’s why I invested so heavily into the studio so that we can do everything here. And I’m trying to show that you can have a high-quality sound cheaper than going to the east or west coast.”

He’s a classically trained pianist who turned down a music scholarship to pursue engineering, but Tony didn’t know much about the production side when he started TBeats. Being chosen for the Mix with the Master’s

this professionally – for a living. I’m sitting in the same classroom with them. That’s when I knew I would be able to hang.”

He’s immersed himself into getting acclimated to every aspect of the music while applying the business acumen he’s honed via Kwame. He’s taken classes and solicited the help of others – like Grammynominated producer Jo Capo.

He also is building a unique model to help his artists succeed in the industry on the

Last year, TBeats held an artist showcase at the Four Seasons, but each artist is still in the recording process for their debut TBeats releases. Meanwhile, Tony has his team looking years down the road and envisioning “the Motown of St. Louis.”

“I want people to say, ‘We can’t believe that it came out of St. Louis,” Griptite said. “It’s not that St. Louis is secondtier, but it’s a blank canvas. I think the music will speak for itself, and he’s helping bring that spotlight to it. If you learn anything from Tony, it’s to go for it when the moment presents itself – and you have to be ready at any moment.”

For more information about TBeats, visit www.tbeatsstudio.

n “He (Ali) used boxing to talk to the world and be an advocate for other people –to ight for others.”

– Idris Goodwin, Playwright

PLAY

Continued from C1

people don’t know why he got into boxing and who his first trainer was and about him going to the Olympics – and how he negotiated and dealt with segregation in his city. He goes on to be one of the biggest social justice warriors and warriors against discrimination, but he came from an environment that was racially segregated.”

For many, the story of Cassius Clay’s early days starts with his refusal to participate in the draft for the Vietnam War.

But “And in this Corner…” goes back to the very beginning.

Goodwin’s intention was to show what happened in this boy’s life and reveal the seeds planted that helped him become the man that we know now.

Ali’s name is synonymous with both boxing and Black Power, but the play catches him before he floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee – and before his unapologetic blackness simultaneously captivated and polarized the nation as he changed the face of boxing and sports heroes.

“I love boxing, I love Muhammad Ali and I love writing historical plays, so for me it was a no brainer,” Goodwin said. “It was a huge honor for me to write about this man with the support of the Ali Center in the town where he grew up.”

Unlike “Ali,” the 2001 Michael Mann film starring Will Smith, “And In This Corner…” is directed towards younger audiences. Goodwin actually prefers writing for young audiences. “It just means that there’s something for everybody,” he said.

As part of his creative process, Goodwin was blessed with the opportunity to walk in Clay’s shoes.

“I was able to see the house where he grew up, the

ART

Continued from C1

“It just don’t make any sense right now,” he said. “Here we have the 21st century, and we have men gunned down in the streets in St. Louis, Chicago, all these major cities, and it didn’t just start happening.”

The show also includes works by documentary filmmaker Denise WardBrown, who teaches at Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis, and Sean Frye, who teaches at SLCC’s Wildwood campus.

Ward-Brown said the show could stimulate people to talk about a topic they otherwise might be hesitant to approach.

“Art has a tendency to start conversations that might be difficult to have in normal workplaces or just casually,” said Ward-Brown. “One of the things the title does [is] it throws up a flag from the past that’s always been controversial but not necessarily talked about frankly.”

Ward-Brown said that frank talk is necessary to grow as a country.

neighborhood where he grew up and meet some guys that he grew up with and was able to go to his school,” Goodwin said. “I went to the community center where he used to hang out and box – and it was amazing.” He learned that many within Clay’s circle were becoming politically and socially minded as Clay focused on boxing. Clay couldn’t be with his friends while they were on the frontlines of activism, but their beliefs and messages never left him.

“The focus, rigor, hard work and dedication necessary for him to get to that place inspired me as far as my writing was concerned, but it was also a reminder that he used boxing to talk to the world and be an advocate for other people – to fight for others,” Goodwin said.

“Working on the play was a big reminder of that: We have these gifts and we have these skills, and it’s all about what we use them for and who we are exalting with these skills.”

According to Goodwin, boxing helped Clay discover things about himself and build a name and reputation so he could do the work of social activism as Ali.

“He used the drama and theatre of sports to deliver powerful messages,” Goodwin said.

“And he delivered them with as much flare and bravado that he brought to the ring. I mean the rhyming, the persona … he and James Brown are like the spiritual godfathers of hip-hop. Ali is one of our kings and icons. There is so much to his life that we are going to continue to study and examine and learn from.” Metro Theater Company’s production of “And in this corner….Cassius Clay” will play at the Missouri History Museum February 12-28, with performance at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 2 p.m. Sundays). For more information, call (314)9327414 or visit www.metroplays. org.

Artist and church member John Dyess brought the show’s current incarnation to Webster Groves for an opening on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He said the church has hosted exhibits related to the holiday for four of the last five years.

“It’s important for a dialogue, for communication, for different points of view, which is what art can do sometimes - communicate various ideas and show a point of view,” said Dyess. “And what the audience receives from that is up to the individual.”

Participants, church members and Dyess said the show has been met primarily with appreciation but isn’t without incident. Dyess said the church put out “Black Lives Matter” signs on the Friday before the show opened. By that Sunday, the signs had been removed by unknown individuals.

The “Good Negroes” exhibit is currently on view at the Webster Groves Christian Church (1320 W Lockwood Ave. in Webster Groves) through February. For sanctuary hours or more information, call (314) 9613232.

Reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

“We have to continue to talk about these things in order for things to shift and change and for our country to absolutely meet its theoretical goals of equality, democracy and freedom. We are not there,” she said.

Art Museum Kicks off 2016 with Exciting Programs forAll Ages

By Courtney M. Baxter, Romare Bearden Minority Graduate Fellow

The Saint Louis Art Museum last year welcomed more than 480,000 visitors who came to enjoy art, performances, lectures, and a variety of other art-related activities with friends and family. Please join us as we kick off the New Year with exciting programming for adults, teens, and children!

Gallery talks are casual opportunities to hear specialists discuss art-related topics in the galleries. The talks are approximately 45 minutes and start in Sculpture Hall.

Gallery Talk: The WPA and the Flourish of African American Art, 1936-1940

February 4th, 11 am and February 5th, 6 pm

Please join us for a discussion about art made by African Americans during the Works Progress Administration, under President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The WPA was created during the Depression to boost the economy through job opportunities. Some of the most notable African American artists who were part of the WPA program include Norman Lewis, Charles White, Romare Bearden, and Jacob Lawrence.

Gallery Talk: Kota and Beyond: Honoring Ancestors in African Art

February 11th, 11 am and February 12th, 6 pm

Nichole Bridges, associate curator for African art and the associate curator in charge of the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and the Americas, will lead a talk in the African galleries focusing on the

Kota, a culture group in Gabon. Starting with the Museum’s exquisite Kota reliquary guardian igure, the gallery talk will explore how African artworks from many cultures served to celebrate, honor, and invoke ancestors.

SLAM Teen Arts

Council Presents: SLAM Poetry & more

February 13th, 2- 4:30 pm

The Museum’s Teen Art Council plans and hosts a variety of arts events speciically designed for and by St. Louis area teens. SLAM Poetry & More will include fun writing and visual-arts activities in the galleries as well as performances by teen slam poets and an open mic. For more information, updates, and to RSVP, please visit the Museum’s Facebook page.

4th Annual Young Artist Exhibition Making Peace

Submissions Deadline March 6, 2016

The Saint Louis Art Museum Teen Arts Council is currently accepting teen artwork submissions for our 4th Annual Young Artist Exhibition (YAE) titled Making Peace. All teens in St. Louis metro area ages 13-18 may submit art that connects to the themes of making or choosing peace in our lives and community. Artwork will be judged by Teen Arts Council and will be exhibited beginning May 14, 2016 in the Museum’s Student Gallery. For more information, visit slam.org.

Start the New Year with a visit to the Saint Louis Art Museum

Admission to the Museum is Free Every Day Tuesday–Sunday, 10:00 am–5:00 pm Friday, 10:00 am–9:00 pm Closed Monday

Admission to the Main Exhibition Always Free on Friday,

10:00 am–9:00 pm Admission to The Farrell Auditorium

Advanced tickets for this free auditorium program are required. Tickets are available in person at the Museum’s Information Centers or through MetroTix online or by phone at 314.534.1111. Free tickets reserved through MetroTix incur a $3 service charge; this service charge is waived for tickets reserved in person at the Museum during regular hours.

Family Sunday Programs 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Travel from Egypt to New Zealand with hands-on art activities and lively 30-minute family-friendly gallery tours at 2:30 pm, every Sunday.

SLAM Underground 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

It’s a party the last Friday of every month! Free music, art making, collection tours, and much more. Cash bar.

Eligible for immortality

I had a wild but humbling thought recently when I was wondering in sheer amazement about God’s eternal being. He always was and always will be. There was never a time when there was no God. There will never be a time when He won’t exist.

Just to contemplate that is a challenge to one’s ability to comprehend, as well as an impossible reach for the imagination. But I’ve come to appreciate imagining the awesome power of God.

In God’s infinite knowledge, I’m supposed to have been there. God knew me before I knew me. Apparently, if I believe scripture, I am an integral part of God’s great plan. I have a role to play.

Scripture teaches that if you believe in the Godliness of Christ, then our very existence in eternity is guaranteed. It’s incredibly humbling to think that the Almighty in His infinite being and power had and has room for you and me in His thought process. I still struggle with that. That means from the moment I accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, I became aware of my immortality. So often as we grow older, we tend to accept our mortality (maybe even begrudgingly), when really we should be more aware and appreciative of our own immortality.

“I tell you the truth; whoever hears my words and believes Him who sent me has eternal life.” John 5:24.

I am merely, in as humble a way as possible, accepting this truth. The reality of that truth is what boggles the mind.

If I calculate time in human terms, I was born. I lived and I will die. By accepting Christ as my Lord and Savior, I must recalculate time as follows: I was born. I lived and I will die in this physical world. At that moment I will live again, forever.

One of the byproducts of this truth is also a fundamental belief in God’s Word because Jesus is the one telling us God’s intention. So therefore, faith here demands we’ve got to accept God’s Word first and above all else.

From the instant God thought of you, you became eligible for immortality. That eligibility gets realized when you start an intimate relationship with Christ. Through the Holy Spirit, we confirm our relationship with Christ and our existence in eternity. All we have to do is choose.

Listen up! Choose life or choose death. I’ve made my choice. I choose life, and you know what? I’m going to live forever. You know what? You are too. Imagine that.

Columnist James Washington

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission

Honor Black History Month in St. Louis

By Kiara Bryant Of Explore St. Louis

In honor of Black History Month, we invite you to learn more about the history of AfricanAmerican culture and celebrate the achievements of African Americans in St. Louis with the following events and attractions.

The Old Courthouse was the site of the notable Dred Scott v. Sanford court case which ultimately led to the Civil War and would forever change America’s destiny.

The Griot Museum of Black History provides another opportunity for you and your family to learn about African-American history. The museum features wax figures, artifacts and memorabilia with an emphasis on regional stories in relation to American history. “Griot” (pronounced “GREE-OH”) is a community historian who maintains cultural traditions through poetry, storytelling and music in some countries in West Africa.

The Scott Joplin House State Historic Site is a National Historic Landmark. Step into the King of Ragtime’s home where he composed what would become legendary music.

Various St. Louis County Library and St. Louis Public Library locations will host a variety of topics all month long, such as: Discovery Club: African American Scientists and Inventors (Indian Trails), Central Cinema Presents: Black History Month (Central Library), the African American Inventions exhibit (Thornhill Branch), and Pilot Pruitt and Soaring with other Sumner Alums (Carpenter Branch). All events are free and open to the public, visit www.slcl.org/blackhistory-celebration and www.stlouispubliclibrary. com for details.

“Continuing the Legacy” by COCA on February 5 and 6 will use dance, music and photography to take audience members on a powerful journey representing black history from slavery to the jazz era, through the Civil Rights Movement, and to modern times.

The “Lift Every Voice: Black History Month Celebration” on Friday, February 12 at Powell Symphony Hall celebrates African-American culture and traditions that have shaped St. Louis, the U.S. and the world. Conductor Kevin McBeth, special guest artist Larnelle Harris, and the STL Symphony IN UNISON Chorus will commemorate the legacy of African-American art, music, culture and community. Close out the month of February with the “PNC Arts Alive New Dance Horizons IV: A Celebration Inspired by St. Louis’ Legendary Black Artists” February 26-27 at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center at University of Missouri- St. Louis. In celebration of Black History Month, three nationallyrenowned African-American choreographers create new works for unique world premieres. Each choreographer will be paired with a local professional dance company, including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre principal dancers. Black history is alive all year long in St. Louis. In the spring experience the Mary

The Black Rep is an icon of AfricanAmerican culture and black history in St. Louis.

Meachum Freedom Crossing Celebration on the riverfront of North St. Louis, the African Arts Festival occurs in Forest Park on Memorial Day Weekend.

n St. Louis has ties to Chuck Berry, Tina Turner, Miles Davis, Arthur Ashe, Jackie JoynerKersee and many more legendary names.

Don’t forget to look out for performances at The Black Rep (http://www. theblackrep.org/) and eat soul food at Sweetie Pie’s.

St. Louis has ties to Chuck Berry, Tina Turner, Miles Davis, Arthur Ashe, Jackie JoynerKersee and many more legendary names.

Our newest attraction for celebrating musicians will be the National Blues Museum opening April 2. The interactive museum will educate visitors about the importance of the blues genre and its powerful influence on American music.

We hope you’ll take your family on an African-American history tour, to see all there is to do, visit explorestlouis.com.

Kiara Bryant is the public relations coordinator for Explore St. Louis.

By Melanie Adams

Talking Cassius Clay

Interview with director of Metro Theater production coming to History Museum

The Missouri History Museum is proud to once again partner with Metro Theater for their production of “And in This Corner … Cassius Clay.” This play tells the true story of a young Cassius Clay growing up in Jim Crow Louisville, KY. Below is an interview with Metro Artistic Director, Julia Flood, talking about the play and how his story of courage, conscience and community remains relevant. Tell me a little about Metro Theater.

Metro Theater Company was founded in 1973 and is the third-oldest professional theater company in St. Louis. We serve a mission that is inspired by the intelligence and emotional wisdom of young people to produce professional plays for audiences of all ages, to nurture inclusive community and to foster life-long learning through the arts.

How did you decide on producing a play about Cassius Clay?

I moved to St. Louis in early 2014 from Florida. I had been in my position as the new Artistic Director of Metro Theater Company for only six months when Michael Brown was shot and the events in Ferguson around racial equity began to unfold. In considering plays for the upcoming season, I searched for something that would speak to young people about what they were witnessing in their own communities. As I looked around me, I felt that all of us were grappling with feelings of confusion, emotional upheaval and conflict. How could we help young people to navigate those feelings? I began to look for a play that would open up dialogue on the difficult issues young people face today, without lecturing them about what to think or what to do with those feelings.

How do you feel Clay’s story is relevant to today’s young people?

understand the fear that she feels. 12-year-old Cassius flies into a rage over the theft of his bicycle during his first encounter with white policeman, Joe Martin. What will happen? It is a surprise to discover that this is the man who would become his first mentor and introduce him to boxing. What types of discussions do you hope families will have after seeing the play?

The play is an uplifting experience that we hope people of all ages will share together. Theater provides a safe space to see the world through another’s eyes. We believe that the images and themes in this play will naturally prompt conversation on themes of racial equity, personal responsibility, community and facing challenges head-on. The play asks the audience what it means to stand up for what you believe in. Is it enough to only stand up for yourself, or do you need to stand up for those who can’t? Who will make positive change happen if not you and me?

“And in This Corner…. Cassius Clay” by Indris

One of the things that really spoke to me when I first read the play was the resonance between events in Ali’s early life, during the beginnings of the Civil Rights movement, and events young people see unfolding today. Cassius Clay was the same age as Emmitt Till, 14, when Till was murdered in Mississippi for whistling at a white woman. We see Cassius’ mother Odessa Clay, after hearing this news, hug her two young teenage sons tightly when they arrive home. We

Friday and Saturday evening performances: February 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, 27 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday afternoon performances: February 14, 21, 28 at 2 p.m.

Lee Auditorium

$18 per person

$14 for students/seniors/military

$12 for MHM members/ groups of 10 or more

Tickets: metroplays.org or (314) 932-7414

In addition to the play, you are working with community partners to provide other programs. Can you talk a little about those programs? We are excited to have a growing number of partners collaborating with us through what we are calling The Cassius Project. We encourage everyone to go to www.cassiusproject.com to learn, not only about the play and Muhammad Ali, but also about all the community partners who have come on board with this project, from artists to activists to philanthropists. It is also possible to link to other organizations that are doing wonderful work in the community to support youth and social justice through this site. Did you discover something you didn’t know about Cassius Clay while producing this play? I knew very little about Muhammad Ali’s young life when I first read the play. For me, he had always been the larger-thanlife hero that we have come to know. I found the play, which is very true to his actual life from age 11 to 22, to be fascinating in the way that it illuminates both the young person growing up in that era, the challenges and fears that the young teen would need to overcome and how that shaped the man he would become. The more I learned about Cassius Clay/ Muhammad Ali in my research for this play, the more I admired him. What an extraordinary human being! I am so proud to be part of telling his story.

Goodwin

Celebrations

Birthdays

Congratulations to Daniah Minor, who has been nominated to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum: Pathways to STEM program, which is held at Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois in summer 2016. Daniah is a fourth grader at Gibson Elementary School in the Riverview Gardens School District and was nominated because of her outstanding academic performance, maturity and leadership ability.

Reunions

Beaumont High School

Class of 1971 is planning its 45th year reunion for July 22-24, 2016.Please send your contact information (address and phone number) to Gladys Smith at beaumont1971alumni@aol. com.

Soldan Class of 1971 is planning its 45th year reunion for: June 17-19, 2016 at the Ameristar Casino Resort & Spa, One Ameristar Boulevard, St. Charles, Mo 63301.

Soldan Class of 1976 reunion will be held June 10-12, 2016. For more information, email soldanclassof1976@yahoo. com or Facebook: Soldan High School Class of 1976.

Sumner Alumni Association hosts its 13th Annual RoundUp of Sumner Alumni Sunday, February 28, 2016, 1-4 pm at Sumner High School. Theme: “Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” with Special performances by Sumner Alumni and non-Sumner

Happy Birthday to Gary Emerson on January 28! We love you! From, Your mom and children (Ester, Lil Gary, Garrion and Gavin)

Happy 1st Birthday to my handsome baby boy, Derrick Lamont Flannel III (3D) on February 4! I’m truly blessed to have you in my life! Love always, Mommy

Alumni. Reception with entertainment: 12:45-1:45 pm in the gym with displays, souvenir items, photographer and more. New, Renewal, and “Climbing Jacob’s Ladder” (Lifetime) for alumni memberships accepted in the foyer. Program: 2 pm in the auditorium. Vendors are welcome ($50 in advance); contact B. Louis at 314.385.9843 for Vendor Form or Flyer at: sumneralumniassn@yahoo. com. John House, Chairperson 314.420-3442.

Sumner High School Class of 1966 is planning their 50th Class Reunion. Please contact Ella Scott at 314-436-1696, Els2188@sbcglobal.net with

Happy Birthday to the best mom ever on January 31! Forty-four and fabulous! From, Briana and Jermaine Holt

your name, address and email or join the Sumner Class of 1966 Facebook Group page.

University City High School Class of 1976 is planning its Fabulous 40th year class reunion for June 24-25, 2016. We need your contact information. Please email your information to: weareuc76@ gmail.com or call the UCHS Class of 76 voicemail at 314301-9597.

University City Class of 1981 35th reunion will be August 5-7, 2016. Please send your contact information to Denise Weatherford -Bell at msdenise38@yahoo.com.

Vashon January and June Classes of 1966 will celebrate our 50 year reunion October 7-9, 2016 at the Hollywood Casino, 777 Casino Center Drive, Maryland Heights, MO 63043. Contact Marilyn Stuckey, Chairperson, 314-438-8338, email: masystucup@att.net or Janice Holland, Co-Chairperson, 314-727-1695, email: jholland1695@att.net for more information.

Vashon Class of 1986 will be celebrating its fabulous 30th Class Reunion in beautiful Las Vegas Nevada, July 21-23, 2016. For more information contact, Claudette at 314 3681502 or cctreze@att.net.

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. 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

The staying power of Plies. Don’t tell anybody, but Kirk Franklin’s evil twin Plies secretly gives me life with his more modest social media savagery – particularly his cover of Adele’s “Hello” and Bobby McFarrin’s “Don’t Worry Be Happy” and his utter disgust with the price point of Chick fil-A. I was expecting for him to be basking in his ratchet glory when he took the stage at Lux Friday night for Phil Assets birthday bash. He brought the folks out in a major way– and made a few modifications to the stage that I’m going to go ahead and assume were for Plies’ enjoyment. Most notably was the pair of poles stocked with a pair of…well…for the sake of Partyline let’s just call them private dancers. Was I the only one who was a nervous wreck every time they twisted on those disposable poles? They just didn’t look sturdy to me. I just knew the poor thing in the red leather was half-spin/twist away from landing on a group of twerkers on the dance floor. Thank goodness e she stopped while she was ahead. In show related news, I didn’t know so many of the elderly ratchets were checking for Plies like that. I saw a woman who looked like she dusted off the top half of her COGIC convention outfit (yes…a blazer and full crown) and spiced it up with some thigh high chunk heel boots. And the VIP had mom jeans galore up in there. At first I thought they were chaperoning until that beat dropped and they got low to the flo’(yes, flo’). It was packed in there too, but I know y’all are dying to know if Plies pulled another “hit it and quit it show.” I was assuming the worst when he came out in a Versace bath robe and Robert Johnson (King of the Delta Blues) brim. I was like “he’s still in his pajamas, so he has no intention of staying. I was dead wrong. He did take the stage at 1 a.m., but they had to chop the sound to get him to call it a night. He only has about five songs, but he did two or three of them twice, invited some young men who looked like they were extras from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” to turn up with him on stage ( boy did they ever) and danced around to some songs by people he know St. Louis rides with, like Yo Gotti and Boosie. He was doing so much that wasn’t even enough time for him to perform his beloved ballad “Bust It Baby.”

Shout out to S.L.U.M. I caught the absolute tail end of it (Toni Braxton and her raw emotional health risks rollercoaster of a Lifetime movie are completely to blame. I couldn’t turn away) but I would be out of pocket if I didn’t show some love to my people who took the time to let the light shine on the St. Louis Underground Music Scene with their 5th Annual S.L.U.M. Fest Hip-Hop Awards and concert Saturday at 2720 Cherokee. I’m going to give another round of applause to all the winners – that included my folks DJ Smitty, Tef Poe – as well as some rising stars on the scene like Bates. Was I the only one in the world who didn’t know J.R. of the new club banger “Best Friend” fame was local? Leave it to S.L.U.M. Fest to help me learn something new. Putting the “super” in Super Natural. The bad thing about the Splenda Babyface giving me everything I ever could have wanted with his beautiful mug as Toni kept filing bankruptcy was that I missed the S.L.U.M. Awards. The good thing is that I was just in time to hop across the street and get every bit of my life with Needles’ recurring Super Natural set – a night of music and dance dedicated to the sistas who bask in their natural hair glory. Real talk, I had totally forgotten it was going down last Saturday at the Blank Space. So Needles, you have the S.L.U.M. crew to thank for my presence. And let me thank you for the get down. Baby, the Nubian princesses and queens proved that it’s a beautiful thing when you can cut a rug without worrying about your edges crawling up in the corner until the next process. Their throw down was so real, it looked like a re-enblactment of the “Good Times” party photo. Yes it was that serious. And Needles did not forsake us one single time on those tables – as usual. My only suggestion is that he offer a big chop discount for the first Supernatural of the year for the ladies who kept to their New Year’s resolution with a fresh shadow fade.

In search of soul. Okay, I was all psyched up to secretly deliver a four part harmony when the latest edition of Soul Searching (featuring Kelly Justice, Tish Haynes Keys and Katrina Reese) gave us a taste of the girl power in music with a revue of Generation X’s favorite female groups. When I heard they had a taste of Total, SWV and Xscape in the mix I was ready, willing and able to make provisions to head over to BB’s on a Monday night. I wish I could say that I enjoyed the show, but it was too rough around the edges for me to truly bother. I know there were some folks up in there who felt like they paid to watch a rehearsal. I’m not saying you can’t be loose and fun, but take the music seriously ladies. There I said it. It was the cutest of concepts, next time make sure the execution and delivery lives up to the intention.

Belated birthday love. Space was not on my side for the last few weeks, but all would set well with me if I didn’t show love to one of my favorite socialites on the scene. The lovely Mrs. Ashley Mitchell held a black dress birthday brunch two Sundays ago at Granite City Brewery in Creve Coeur. We had the time of our lives up in there – not just with the fellowship, but with speakers and empowering messages and connections. Some of my favorites were in the building too – including Mocha Latte, Brittanye Skye and Melanie (from The Marquee and OBar). I must say that Ashley spends her birthday going all out for our sake year after year. And just when I think I can’t be more impressed, she raises the bar.

Lesha, Kee, and Rashida spent some time catching up Saturday @ Mood

Keke and Britt were all smiles Saturday @ HG

Melanie, birthday girl Ashley Mitchell and Mocha Latte @ Ashley’s birthday brunch @ Granite City Brewery

Tia, Chanel, and Jessica came out for Fetish Fridays @ HG

St. Louis’ own MC Keem posed with Khadejah, Yanni and Kara Friday @ The Fubar

Tiffany, Michelle and Ruby came through to get their taste of trap music by way of Plies Friday night @ Lux

Monique, Bri and Kara were in the building to help Phil Assets celebrate his b-day Friday night @ The Lux

Derrick, Jermaine and Tarnaz did it big Saturday @ Mood

Mo Spoon and Terrence peeped the swag @ Mood for Style Code Saturdays

Ebony and Ericka stopped through the Marquee Saturday for Element Saturdays

Rapper Plies provided the entertainment for Phil Assets’ birthday bash Friday night at Lux. Chanel was just one of the many Liquid Assets leading ladies on hand joining in the celebration.

Photos by Lawrence Bryant & John Scott

LEAD ACCOUNTANT NEEDED

LEGALSERVICES OFEASTERN MISSOURI, INC. MANAGING ATTORNEY COMMUNITYAND ECONOMIC

(CED) PROGRAM Legal Services of Eastern Missouri, Inc. (LSEM), a non-profit law firm that provides free civil legal assistance to persons living with low income/low opportunity, seeks a Managing Attorney to direct its Community Economic Development Program (CED) in St. Louis, MO. For more information and instructions for applying, please visit our website at www.lsem.org

....Responsibilities: Prepare budgets & monthly financial statements, coordinate audit, payroll reporting and distribution, general ledger allocations.....Qualifications: Accounting degree, 5 yrs accounting experience Submit resume to United 4 Children at hr@united4children.org

MATH TEACHER

Middle School in North St. Louis will interview for the position of math teacher, for the 2016-17 school year. Acoeducational charter school, La Salle serves fifth through eighth grade students. The ideal candidate is mission-centered, engaging, and possesses 3-5 years’experience in urban education with demonstrable results in student learning. Email resume and letter of interest to head of school Phillip Pusateri at ppusateri@lasallemiddleschool.org

PRINCIPAL

(Employment opportunities)

SUPERINTENDENT

Hazelwood School District Florissant, Missouri Hazelwood School District is seeking an outstanding committed educational leader to serve as Superintendent for the

REQUESTFOR PROPOSALS

CITYOFST. LOUIS

CT, February 10, 2016 at Board of Public Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. RFQ may be obtained from website www.stl-bps.org under the On Line Plan Room – Plan Room, or contact Board of Public Service at 314-622-3535. 25% MBE and 5% WBE

CITYOFST. LOUIS BOARD OFPUBLIC SERVICE REQUESTFOR CONTRACTOR

The City of St. Louis, Board of Public Service, intends to PRE-QUALIFYCONTRACTORS to bid as PRIME CONTRACTOR for INSTALLATION SERVICES FOR VIDEO CAMERASURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS, ST. LOUIS, MO. The Request for Contractor Qualification package may be obtained from the Board of Public Service website, www.stl-bps.org under the On Line Plan Room –Plan Room, or by calling the Board of Public Service at 314-622-3535. Statements of Contractor Qualifications due by 4:30 PM, CT, TUESDAY, FEBRUARY9, 2016 at Board of Public Service, 1200 Market, Room 301 City Hall, St. Louis, MO 63103. Statements of Contractor Qualifications will not be accepted after that time.

INVITATION TO BID

Ferguson-Florissant School District

HVAC Replacement, 4 Fire Alarm Renovations, and Roof Consulting Services

Six (6) separate sealed bids for the following projects will be accepted:

1) One (1) HVAC replacement at Bermuda Elementary; sealed bids will be received on Monday, February 22, 2016 until 11:00 a.m.

Contact Weis Design Group at wdg@weisdesigngroup.com

2) Four (4) fire alarm renovations at Cool Valley, Duchesne, Halls Ferry and Wedgwood Elementary ; sealed bids will be received on Monday, February 22, 2016 until 11:30 a.m.

Contact Weis Design Group at wdg@weisdesigngroup.com

3) One (1) Roof consulting services for roofing replacement as needed. Sealed bids will be received on Monday February 22, 2016 until 12:30 p.m. Contact Kurt Ramsey at 314-506-9183. All sealed bids will be publicly opened and read aloud at the Facilities Department at 7469 Mintert Ind. Dr. Ferguson, MO 63135. Bid specs must be obtained online at http://new.fergflor.k12.mo.us/facilities-rfq.

OPEN REQUESTFOR QUALIFICATIONS PROFESSIONALSERVICES

St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (SLEDP) is issuing an open request for qualifications from professional services/consulting firms for various projects initiated in 2016. SLEDPis seeking qualifications from firms with expertise that includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:

•Engineering services (including but not limited to civil and mechanical, electrical and plumbing specializations)

•Environmental consulting/engineering services (including but not limited to assessment, remedial design and site remediation/cleanup services)

•Geotechnical services

•Traffic generation and assessment analysis

•Building inspection services

•Construction Cost Estimating

•Construction management/oversight

•Land surveying

•Economic and community development consulting (economic/market research and studies, incentives/tax analyses, appraisals, existing conditions analysis, and community assessment and outreach)

•Strategic planning (includes organizational development, SWOTanalysis, long-term goal planning)

• Real estate consulting (strategic facilities planning and space planning/programming)

•Property acquisition and relocation services

•Financial consulting services in the areas of (but not limited to) loan packaging and loan servicing, tax exempt and taxable bond financing, joint venture equity, mezzanine or other forms of debt and equity financing

•Mentoring/consulting services in the areas of, but not limited to, human resources, risk management, information technology,financial management, sales training, marketing and legal Marketing/communications (PR, electronic marketing, news story development, ads)

•Multi-lingual translation and interpretation services

•International trade consulting and research services (trade commodity flows, market research and development, business planning, compliance including legal and financial)

•International diplomatic, trade, and economic development consulting

•Project management consulting services (includes, project development, advocacy, political outreach) Legal Services in all areas of specialization, including but not limited to, corporate law, contract negotiations and transactional support, immigration, legislation, incentive analysis and negotiations, environmental law, land use and eminent domain, real estate law, public finance transactions (incentives analysis and public funding mechanisms/bonds, and business finance) and litigation

•Any

ROAD WORK NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Bids will be received electronically by the Commission until 11:00

received by: Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission Attention: State Design Engineer/Bid Bond 105 West Capitol Avenue Jefferson City, Missouri The proposed work includes:

Job J6S3006 Route D STLOUIS County. Resurface from west of Route 67 to Interstate 170, the total length of improvement being 3.283 miles.

Special Needs: If you have special needs addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, please notify Pamela Harlan, Secretary to the Commission, at (573) 751-2824 or through Missouri Relay System, TDD 1-800-735-2966.

The wage rates applicable to this project have been predetermined as required by law and are set forth in the Bidding documents. When federal wage rates are applicable and included, this contract is subject to the "Work Hours Act of 1962," (P.L. 87-581, 76 State. 357) and implementing regulations.

Byvirtue of statutory authority, preference shall be given on other than Federal Aid Projects, to materials, products, supplies, provisions, and other articles, produced, manufactured, made or grown within the state of Missouri, where same are of a suitable character and can be obtained at reasonable market prices in the state and are of a quality suited to the purpose intended and can be secured without additional cost over foreign products or products of other states.

The Commission hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, ancestry, or national origin in consideration for an award. The Commission reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

Plans and specifications may be inspected in the offices of the Commission at Jefferson City, or the District Office at Town and Country, Missouri. Plans and specifications are available for download at www.modot.org. Complete instructions to bidders may be obtained at the Jefferson City office. All questions concerning the bid document preparation shall be directed to the Central Office – Design Division at (573) 751-2876. THE MISSOURI HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

REQUESTFOR PROPOSAL

The St. Louis Philanthropic Organization (SLPO) invites 501 (c) (3) organizations to submit an application for its 2016 Responsive Grants cycle. Grant requests cannot exceed $10,000 and must be used solely for programs that provide services to St. Louis city residents. Agencies may submit only one application per grant cycle.

The original and two copies of the application, along with one copy of the required attachments, must be received before 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 16, 2016 at the SLPO office located at 4144 Lindell Blvd., Suite 210, St. Louis, MO 63108. Please note that the submission deadline is the Tuesday following the President’s Day Holiday on Monday, February 15th (office closed). The office will be open on Tuesday, February 16th until 4:30 p.m.

All grant requests must be submitted on the SLPO application form. The application form, along with instructions for completion and required attachments, may be found on the SLPO web site at www.stlphil.org Agencies may also request that a copy of the application and instructions be emailed to them by contacting the SLPO office at stlphil@sbcglobal.net SLPO office hours are Mondays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday mornings from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Applications will not be accepted by email or fax. They may be delivered to the SLPO office by U.S. mail or hand delivered. Anormal business size envelope will fit under the door should organizations deliver applications outside normal business hours. Delivery methods that require a signature may affect submission by the deadline if delivery is attempted outside of SLPO office hours.

SLPO will host two Informational Meetings for Prospective Grantees, the first to be held on Friday, January 29, 2016 at the Schlafly Branch Library located at 225 N. Euclid Avenue. Registration will begin at 9:00 a.m. and the program at 9:30 a.m. Asecond informational meeting will be conducted via conference call on Thursday, February 4, 2016 at 10:00 a.m. Please RSVPto the St. Louis Philanthropic Office by phone via email (noted above) to indicate which of the two informational meetings you would like to attend and who will be participating. The phone number and pass code for the conference call will be provided to agencies that RSVP. It is recommended that organizations download and print the application and instructions for the informational meetings.

ROAD WORK NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Bids will be received electronically by the Commission until 11:00 o'clock a.m. (prevailing local time) on 02/19/2016 for the project(s) listed below. Electronic bids must be submitted through “Bid Express Secure Internet Bidding” at www.bidx.com Paper bid bonds shall be addressed to and received by: Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission Attention: State Design Engineer/Bid Bond 105 West Capitol Avenue Jefferson City, Missouri

The proposed work includes:

Job J6P2313 Route OR 44 E STLOUIS County. Grading, pavement and guardrail at Beaumont-Antire Road, the total length of improvement being 0.816 miles.

Special Needs: If you have special needs addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, please notify Pamela Harlan, Secretary to the Commission, at (573) 751-2824 or through Missouri Relay System, TDD 1-800-735-2966.

The wage rates applicable to this project have been predetermined as required by law and are set forth in the Bidding documents. When federal wage rates are applicable and included, this contract is subject to the "Work Hours Act of 1962," (P.L. 87-581, 76 State. 357) and implementing regulations.

By virtue of statutory authority, preference shall be given on other than Federal Aid Projects, to materials, products, supplies, provisions, and other articles, produced, manufactured, made or grown within the state of Missouri, where same are of a suitable character and can be obtained at reasonable market prices in the state and are of a quality suited to the purpose intended and can be secured without additional cost over foreign products or products of other states.

The Commission hereby notifies all bidders that it will affirmatively insure that in any contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, ancestry, or national origin in consideration for an award. The Commission reserves the right to reject any or all bids.

Plans and specifications may be inspected in the offices of the Commission at Jefferson City, or the District Office at Town and

contract entered into pursuant to this advertisement, minority business enterprises will be afforded full opportunity to submit bids in response to this invitation and will not be discriminated against on the grounds of race, color,religion, creed, sex, age, ancestry, or national origin in consideration for an award. The Commission reserves the

office. All questions concerning the bid document preparation shall be directed to the Central Office – Design Division at (573) 751-2876.

THE MISSOURI HIGHWAYS AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION

PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:

is subject to the Federal Fair

Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, imitation, or

because of race,color, religion, sex, handicap, familial\status, or national origin, or intention to make any such

limitation, or discrimination “We will not knowingly accept any advertising

which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised areavailable on an equal opportunity basis.” Call Vida at 314-289-5406 to place your rental/real estate ad today!