St. LouiS AmericAn
“We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation or threat of deadly force will not be tolerated.”
– Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner
Sunday, June 28.
Gun-wielding lawyers to
be
investigated
‘We must protect the right to peacefully protest,’ Kimberly Gardner says
By Sophie Hurwitz
For The St. Louis American
At around 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 28, a crowd that had gathered to demand that St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson resign marched through a small pedestrian gate at the end of Portland Place in the Central West End, where some of the city’s most opulent homes are located. After more protesters moved through the rusty wrought-iron gate, it appeared to have collapsed.
When the first wave of citizens made it through, they were greeted by an unexpected sight in front of the large marble mansion at
n The McCloskeys’ gun-toting images went viral as memes of white rage in unhinged defense of white privilege.
1 Portland Place: a white man and woman in their 60s, both barefoot, waving loaded guns at the group. The man was holding a semi-automatic rifle, while the woman held a small pistol. For most of the interaction, her finger was held directly on the trigger.
Ceremony includes moment of silence for late former Mayor Mary L. Carter
street from Pagedale City Hall on Thursday, June 25. “Your being there makes a difference in how things go down. This is your city.” Millett, serving her 29th year as alderperson of this North St. Louis County municipality of 3,300 (95% of them Black), was one of 20 people other than the new mayor himself who spoke or sang at the
“Let’s go, let’s go, keep moving!” some protestors shouted, as the crowd moved past. Within about 10 minutes, the whole group of a few hundred had made it past the mansion and was on their way to Krewson’s house a few blocks away to demand her resignation for her recent doxing of citizens asking her to defund the police. As the night went on and protestors chanted for Krewson’s resignation outside her townhouse, images of the gunslinging white couple went viral. By Monday morning, one video of the two had garnered over 13 million
Pagedale Mayor Ernest “E.G.” Shields called for civic engagement. He mocked what he called “living room revolutionaries” who “sit in their living rooms talking about what is wrong and how corrupt things are, yet do nothing.”
Calls for Krewson to resign get national attention
Police violence feared after mayor reads names, addresses of people calling to defund police
By Ramona Curtis
Of The St. Louis American
The nation is watching the City of St. Louis as demands for the resignation of Mayor Lyda Krewson have come from top city officials, aldermen, community leaders, activists and thousands of citizens.
Krewson received national attention when she read the names and addresses of citizens calling for the city to defund the police on a Friday, June 26 Facebook Live broadcast. Many said the mayor doxing them put their lives in danger. One of the activists was arrested the next day during a Florissant Police protest.
“Lyda Krewson releasing names and addresses of citizens engaged in democratic acts of letter-writing to #closetheworkhouse and #defundthepolice … demonstrates a lack of fitness,” Deaconess Foundation President and CEO Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson said on social media. The Facebook video showing the doxing has since been deleted and Krewson issued an online apology.
As of press time, nearly 54,000 people had signed a Change.org petition calling for Krewson’s resignation started by activist Maxi Glamour. The site was registering new signatures by the second on July 1.
“I echo the calls for Mayor Krewson’s resig-
2020 HeALtH SALute
Health Salute to be held online
20th anniversary celebration of health care heroes is July 9
American staff
The 20th annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards will be celebrated online as a free virtual event at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 9. To register, visit givebutter.com/salutehc. Those who
n “We believe this celebration of our health care heroes and the work they do is more important than ever.”
– Dr. Denise Hooks-Anderson
Awards will be given for $500, $500 and $1,000. The event had been postponed and ultimately was moved online due to public
concerns relative to the COVID-19 pandemic. The St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute events – well-attended gatherings held indoors, typically with much social contact –would not be safe during the pandemic. At the same time, the pandemic and revived Black Lives Matter movement make the Health Salute timely.
“The COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter uprising have underscored the devastating racial disparities in health care and that our health care workers are critical and indispensable
Patricia McCloskey and Mark McCloskey brandished guns as protestors marched past their home in the Central West End on
Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Photo by Wiley Price
Mayor Lyda Krewson
August Alsina says Jada romance was approved by Will; Jada says ‘lies’
In an interview with television and radio personality Angela Yee, singer August Alsina claims Will Smith “gave [him] his blessing” to embark on a relationship with Jada Pinkett Smith The 27-year-old singer has widely been rumored to have been romantically linked with Jada in recent years. He claims they indeed were together, but insisted he hadn’t “done anything wrong” as her husband was more than aware of the situation.
“People can have whatever ideas that they like, but what I’m not okay with is my character being in question,” Alsina said. “I’m not a troublemaker. I don’t like drama. Drama actually makes me nauseous. I also don’t think that it’s ever important for people to know what I do, who I sleep with, who I date, right? But, in this instance, it’s very different, ‘cause as I said there is so many people that are sideeyeing me, looking at me questionable about it.” He added that he has been villainized because people don’t know the truth about his relationship with Jada – which is that it
all happened with the blessing of her husband Will Smith.
“I actually sat down with Will and had a conversation,” Alsina said.
“Due to the transformation from their marriage to [a] life partnership that they spoke on several times, and not involving romanticism, he gave me his blessing.”
August claimed his relationship with Jada “almost killed” him and made him into a different person after devoting his ‘full self” to her.
“I totally gave myself to that relationship for years of my life. I truly and really, really deeply loved, and have a ton of love for her. I devoted myself to it, I gave my full self to it,” Alsina told Yee. “So much so to the point that I can die right now and be OK with knowing that I truly gave myself to somebody...I really loved the person that I experienced that [with] and know what [that feels] like.”
Alsina said it was a love many people don’t experience in their lifetimes.
“I’m shakin’ right now because it almost killed me. Not almost. It did,” said Alsina. “It pushed me into being another person, my newer self. It. Broke. Me. Down.”
Last year, Jada – who has children Jaden, 21, and Willow, 19, with Will – admitted she and her spouse no longer celebrate their wedding anniversary because their marriage has changed over the years.
“It’s more of a life partnership, so it’s not steeped in that day,” Jada said.
As far as the Alsina relationship, reps for
Jada vehemently denied the claims to New York Post’s Page Six.
“We reached out to Jada Pinkett Smith’s representative,” Page Six said. “Who responded, ‘Absolutely not true!!’”
Dr. Dre’s wife files for divorce, sources say there’s no prenup
Nicole Young filed documents seeking to end her marriage with Dr. Dre — the producer, rapper and music mogul whose real name is Andre Young — on Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
Nicole Young, 50, cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split, and she is seeking spousal support from the 55-yearold Dr. Dre, who has amassed a major fortune estimated by Forbes to be in the ballpark of $800M thanks to 30-plus years within the entertainment industry as a founding N.W.A member, solo rapper, producer, co-owner of Death Row Records and founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics. The couple has two children, son Truice, 23, and daughter Truly, 19.
Sources connected to Nicole told TMZ that there is no prenup.
Erykah Badu to help Teyana Taylor birth second baby
Five years ago, singer, model and actress Teyana Taylor famously gave birth to her first child on the bathroom floor with an assist from her husband Iman Shumpert.
After announcing her second pregnancy Taylor said she is planning another home birth, but this time using Erykah Badu as her “I’m considering home birth, and I’m actually going to be doing it with Erykah,” Taylor told Nick during his Power 106 show on Wednesday (June 24). “Her and Iman are going to deliver my baby. I’m [gonna] have her just sing her verse from ‘Lowkey’ to me to calm my nerves,” Taylor joked. She noted that she doesn’t want to have the baby in the hospital, assuring, “I’ll make sure it’s not on the toilet or the bathroom
ESOP finally signs MOU with St. Louis County
‘We must have a voice,’ say Black police officers
By Carrie Zhang
For The St. Louis American
On Monday, June 22, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page signed a Memo of Understanding (MOU) with the Ethical Society of Police (ESOP), recognizing it as “a local employee association” and granting its members the right to be represented by a lawyer of choice in the event of disciplinary proceedings or an officer-involved shooting.
While Page’s signature is binding, ESOP demanded that the MOU also be signed by St. Louis County Police Chief Mary Barton and the members of the St. Louis County Council and the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners.
At press time, only Page had signed.
The MOU represents years of work by ESOP to be recognized independently of the St. Louis County Police Association, which is the bargaining unit for county police. ESOP, which advocates for racial equity in policing, has been critical of both St. Louis County Police Department (SLCPD) leadership and the white-dominated police association, part of the Fraternal Order of Police.
Police Officer Shanette Hall, an ESOP St. Louis County Chapter board member, stated that ESOP was founded “to address race-based discrimination, not only occurring within the police department but within the community as well.”
ESOP’S St. Louis County Chapter has fought to be recognized as an official organization within the SLCPD since the chapter was founded in April
2018. ESOP was founded in the City of St. Louis in 1972. Hall said that ESOP first presented Page with an MOU over a year ago, but he did not sign until ESOP announced a press conference to discuss their grievances on June 22.
“This fight has lasted 13 months as of today,” Hall said at the press conference. “This is something we were going to do, something we were no longer going to be silent about, and this is when Dr. Page decided to sign the MOU.”
ESOP began working on the MOU in May of 2018 when Steve Stenger was county executive and Jon Belmar was chief of police. Stenger resigned last year and is now in federal prison, having pled guilty to corruption charges. Belmar retired on April 30.
In November of 2018, ESOP asked all regional police officers, in St. Louis city and county, to rescind their Fraternal Order of Police membership until SLCPD and Belmar recognized ESOP as a local association of police officers with a formal agreement.
At the time, ESOP President Heather Taylor stated that Belmar’s refusal to recognize ESOP was unconstitutional.
“On June 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Janus v. AFSCME that it is unconstitutional to force public employees to fund union advocacy as a condition of employment,” Taylor said. “This ruling gives public employees the right to choose whether or not they will join a union and makes favoritism toward the collective bargaining unit unconstitutional.”
ESOP Attorney William Dailey said that the final
thing?”
She said that African Americans have been asking for the same thing for years, yet nothing has really changed. While policies have been created, the culture in this country supersedes those policies.
“We will continue to have those conversations,” Hall said. “However, it doesn’t need to stop at those conversations.”
Dailey added that although ESOP is ready and willing to stand behind officers who face racial discrimination, they should not stand alone. Others like the chief of police should be supporting those officers as well.
A reporter asked about the numbers of white officers and Black officers in the department. Taylor said that the number of Black officers has been stagnant for decades and that 60% of African-American officers leave within seven years of serving. African Americans are still applying to be officers, but the systemic racism in the department makes it difficult for them because they have to face different hurdles than someone who is not a minority, she said.
stumbling block in getting the MOU signed was that someone in Page’s administration was uncomfortable with the phrase “race-based discrimination.”
“Someone was uncomfortable with the idea that in 1972 a group of African-American police officers founded an organization to address race-based discrimination within the St. Louis Police Department and the community,” said Dailey. Taylor, who is a sergeant in the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, made a stand and refused to make any more changes; then, 48 hours later, Page finally signed the MOU.
This past month, Chief Barton advised ESOP leadership that systemic racism did not exist in the department. However, ESOP stated that in the 2015 findings of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, SLCPD lags behind many other police departments nationwide with regard to diversity and inclusion.
“Most of us are proud to wear this uniform,” said Taylor. “But we’re not proud in the moments when we have chiefs of police like Mary Barton saying that she doesn’t recognize racism existing in her police department as she is doing the
very thing she is not recognizing.”
A reporter stated that Barton had just emailed a statement, saying she was willing to meet with ESOP.
“As we have seen different things happen in society lately, we have had conversations,” Hall said. “Conversations happened when George Floyd was murdered. Conversations happened when Breonna Taylor was murdered. Conversations happened when Ahmaud Arbery was murdered. Conversations continue to happen. At what point are we going to stop having conversations and actually do some-
“The root of everything most times comes back to systemic racism — the denial of the existence of us as minorities in police departments,” said Taylor.
Taylor connected Black officers’ struggle for representation in police department to the Black Lives Matter movement’s struggle for police accountability.
“The way that it stands right now, the police officers all over the country, we have to do better,” said Taylor. “We are trying to improve the lives of the people in our community and our police departments, but in order to do that, we must have a voice.”
Photo by Carolina Hidalgo / St. Louis Public Radio
Heather Taylor, president of the Ethical Society of Police, spoke in 2018 about the organization’s struggle for recognition by the St. Louis County Police Department. That struggle ended on Monday, June 22, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page signed a Memo of Understanding with ESOP.
Editorial /CommEntary
Yinka Faleti for secretary of state, Nicole Galloway for governor
This 4th of July will be one month before a primary election in Missouri on August 4. Here we start five weeks of endorsements for various Democratic Primary races with two endorsements that are particularly easy to make with great confidence: Yinka Faleti for attorney general and Nicole Galloway for governor. Yinka Faleti would be easy to endorse with confidence were he not the only Democrat on the ballot, which he is. Missouri has never elected an African American to statewide office, though nearly 12% of the state’s residents are Black. Faleti, who almost certainly will oppose the odious incumbent John “Jay” Ashcroft in November, would be a worthy candidate to make Missouri history and a vast improvement upon the Republican incumbent, who plays along with a national Republican strategy of voter suppression, particularly in urban districts that traditionally vote Democrat.
A U.S. Army veteran, attorney and former non-profit executive, Faleti seeks this office, he told us, because it is “the frontier in the fight for democracy in Missouri. As the chief elections officer, the secretary of state is able to expand voting access in Missouri, making sure that the legislature is composed of individuals who will truly advance the will of the people. The secretary of state also administers the ballot initiative process, a robust example of direct democracy that must be protected.” We believe that Faleti would be a diligent and ethical defender of this crucial frontier of democracy, and strongly endorse YINKA FALETI FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION FOR SECRETARY OF STATE
Nicole Galloway is not without challengers for the Democratic nomination for Missouri governor, though none of the other four candidates (Eric Morrison, Antoin Johnson, Robin John Daniel Van Quaethem and perennial St. Louis candidate Jimmie Matthews) has any name recognition or any semblance of a statewide campaign. Galloway, on the other hand, is currently elected to statewide office as auditor, a position she successfully defended in 2018 when Missouri voters rejected all other statewide Democratic candidates. We endorsed her for auditor in 2018 as possibly the most competent and diligent auditor in the state’s history and one of the most capable and accountable public officials we had ever observed in any statewide office in Missouri. Two years later, we are only more convinced of her competence, diligence and accountability and eager to see her voted into the much more impactful office of governor. No one is ever going to be elected governor of Missouri running solely on a Black Agenda, yet Galloway somewhat boldly has published an Opportunity Agenda for Black Missourians.
It calls for executive and legislative bans on discrimination in Missouri – yes, in 2020 there remains a need for this. It mandates that 20% of the state’s Small Business Grants and other entrepreneurial investments go to minorityowned businesses, as well as for the formation of state Department of Minority Business that will administer these investments. Yes, in 2020 there remains a need for this in Missouri. And it calls for an expansion of the pre-kindergarten grant program to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline from the beginning. She also would end the practice of asking job applicants about their criminal history.
Her Black Agenda also takes up the crucial, controversial issue of police reform. She calls for a statewide ban on chokeholds and the like, mandates for the use and activation of body cameras, limits on no-knock warrants in drugrelated cases, and subpoena power for civilian oversight boards. She calls for an overhaul of the moribund Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Program that has allowed abuse of police power to continue unchecked in Missouri, with abusive officers drifting from department to department while keeping their licenses to abuse and kill with impunity. Importantly, this would include the creation of an independent statewide Civil Rights Accountability Board with subpoena power to investigate and refer for prosecution violations of POST standards.
Unlike other recent statewide Democratic candidates (Claire McCaskill comes to mind), Galloway is not ignoring the existence of Black people and their concerns in order to appeal to the perhaps mythical out-state Missouri white swing voter. She evidently is well-informed about our issues and has framed credible solutions to many of them in a Black Agenda. We commend her willingness to address some of the systemic inequities that must be dealt with to create transformational change. This also reflects her awareness (not shared, again, by McCaskill) that she needs energized Black voters to win in November. We affirm that we should start building this energy now with a huge turnout for her on August 4. With Trump now slightly trailing Biden in Missouri in some polls and Galloway nibbling at what has been a decisive Parson lead in polls, perhaps Democrats will mount a national effort in Missouri on her behalf that would at least force Republicans to campaign statewide. Democratic decision-makers would do well to remember that Blacks form almost 30% of Democratic Party electorate. Black votes matter. For these and many other reasons, we strongly endorse NICOLE GALLOWAY FOR THE DEMOCRATIC NOMINATION FOR MISSOURI GOVERNOR
Will Mayor Ella Jones be able to turn around Ferguson?
By Andrea S. Boyles For The St. Louis American
Will Mayor Ella Jones be the change needed to turn Ferguson around?
I just knew black folks were going to vote Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III out of office in 2017. People resented him. I know because I documented the Ferguson uprising. I accounted for the will of the people, their interactions and determination in resistance.
We had been in direct action for many months uninterrupted, with black citizens fighting for social change. Ferguson’s local government was supposed to be part of that process, especially following the “no indictment” decision for Michael Brown’s killing.
I will never forget the preparation of the region ahead of the announcement or the excruciating pain of the family and community following it. Schools closed, and people left work early. The black side of Ferguson burned through the night, literally and figuratively. Many believed the odds had been stacked against Brown, even in death.
A goal was to fight through elections, ousting the mayor and prosecuting attorney. This did not happen for Knowles. The first time Ferguson residents went to the polls following civil unrest in 2017, he was reelected. Knowles beat Councilwoman Ella Jones in the Municipal General Election with 57% of the vote.
He had been blamed for the city government’s targeting and criminalizing of black
citizens for profit and for police aggression. Ferguson’s City Council and departments were mostly white and not without fault. Employees had been found transmitting racist emails and more under his mayoral watch. Yet Knowles was reelected. Some black residents and activists previously demanded his resignation, while others tried recalling the election. How was the perceivably worse candidate reelected to a third term in Ferguson? How was Knowles, as a white man, with a seemingly irredeemable race record able to beat Jones in a predominately black community?
Ferguson suffers from black voter apathy and low voter turnout. It also has a sizable transient population. These are factors for how questionable candidates or elected officials gain and retain their offices. They win by default, a common trend that works to the detriment of black lives. Ferguson is also an example for how elections gone wrong affect community development. Segregated and isolated black residents often lack needed services. Ferguson’s general fund shows budgeted expenditures over $8.5 billion for Public Safety for fiscal year 2019-2020, with $241,700 for community development. This
Missouri needs to extend voting access
By Milkayla Allen For The St. Louis American
Voters deserve every opportunity to be heard and have their votes counted. Unflinching Democrats like state Representative Wiley Price (D-St. Louis) led the charge and uplifted our demands around democracy with the passage of SB631, which allows all Missouri voters who are not at high risk for COVID-19 to cast a mail-in ballot, though it still holds a notary requirement.
Some accommodations have been made in order to allow voters to participate safely and easily amidst the COVID-19 pandemic through the passage of SB631. The solutions are narrow and temporary. Price said, “We achieved a lot – but the bill doesn’t go far enough.”
The bill allows all Missouri voters to cast a mail-in ballot with no excuse, but requires anyone who doesn’t fit the criteria of a high-risk individual to get the ballot notarized. This means that millions of voters between 18 and 64 must violate social-distancing rules to get a ballot notarized. According to the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University Law School, Missouri is one of only 12 states left that requires a notary public or a witness for the return of ballots. Additionally, the process of requesting and returning a ballot is overly cumbersome for voters, with most counties requiring all information to be mailed.
The notary requirement will disproportionately affect
black voters. Black people in Missouri and across the United States are dying from COVID19 at three times the rate of our counterparts, so it does our community little good to have a no-excuse mail-in option if we still have to risk our lives to notarize our ballots in person.
We need multiple avenues to advocate for ourselves, therefore having a safe and accessible pathway to the ballot is essential to giving Black voters another opportunity to be heard. We deserve an allencompassing solution. Both our lives and our futures at stake. It’s becoming increasingly clear that the profound structural shift necessary to create a richer, fairer democracy in our state won’t originate in the Legislature. It will be achieved through deeprooted, bipartisan solutions driven by the people.
“I’ll always champion ballot initiatives,” Price said. “That is true democracy. The people coming together and saying: this is what we want.”
Thirty-four other states have figured it out. At minimum, they’ve permanently expanded no-excuse absentee voting options. Due to the COVID19 pandemic, some states like Texas have recently adopted more expansive vote-by-mail practices.
“I think all Missourians
Letters to the editor
Tell Parson to veto SB 600
would be staggering, if not for big donations on the heels of an uprising.
“It seems like at the top they don’t have any money for this, they don’t have any money for that,” Bess (a pseudonym), 58, said in my project. “But [as] soon as the crime arise[s] and it’s a big announced crime, here comes the funds … cause they want us to calm down and be quiet.”
Three years later, Knowles faced term limits, and Ella Jones will finally be Ferguson’s first African-American and woman mayor.
Jones is inheriting a stigmatized city in a racially divided climate during a pandemic. Will she be able to turn things around? She should be held accountable for campaign promises but given the benefit of doubt. She will need support from progressive thinkers, equitable resources, and more.
As Jones takes office, all will be watching and evaluating her words and actions. She is a black woman and therefore subject to age-old race and gender political swipes. Time will reveal her supporters and antagonists. Social justice advocates will need to be intentional about protecting and ensuring fairness. The black community and white allies will need to step up for Mayor Jones.
Andrea S. Boyles is a sociologist and author of You Can’t Stop the Revolution: Community Disorder and Social Ties in Post-Ferguson America and Race, Place, and Suburban Policing: Too Close for Comfort
We all know that our current system of criminal justice is a colossal failure. We all know that sensible reforms are needed. Here is what we do not need: more mandatory minimum sentences, sentences that are stacked (rather than served concurrently), fewer public defenders, and more prisons. This is what we will get if Missouri Gov. Mike Parson does not veto SB 600, which is currently sitting on his desk.
The governor has until July 11 to take action on this bill. If he does nothing, it automatically becomes law. Please call Gov. Parson now at 573-7513222 and ask him to veto this punitive, harmful and unnecessary legislation. If it becomes law, our state will suffer even more.
Jenny Birgé, Barbara L. Finch co-chairs, Racial Justice Committee Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice
Been there, seen that
Once again, I find myself agreeing with Mike Jones. His article “Stay in the streets, y’all—it’s working” was right on target. Jones states of the police, “This [the George Floyd and other protests] is not about the purpose and nature of policing. Put good people in a corrupt system, and the system doesn’t change but the people do—for the worst.” I’ve been there and seen that. So, stay in the streets. It’s working!
Michael K. Broughton Green Park
Say his name: Colin Kaepernick
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said, “We were wrong for not listening to black players’ complaints of racism.” In his so-called apology he never said the name Colin
should have the option to vote absentee, because there are many people like me who can’t make it to the polls or it’s more difficult to do so,” said St. Louis County resident Royalene Davis, who had never voted absentee before COVID19.
Davis has made it to the polls every year despite health conditions that made it burdensome to get out and vote. “If Missouri expands absentee voting, I believe we may be able to get more voters. That should be the point – trying to get more voters, not to keep anyone from participating,” Davis said.
With the option to cast an absentee ballot without barriers, Missourians like Davis could comfortably vote from home instead of having to navigate transportation, stand in long lines, or risk illness amidst a pandemic. Missouri voters shouldn’t have to choose between their health and democracy – this year or any other. We must stop at nothing short of demanding the freedom to participate in our democracy in a way that’s safe and accessible to every Missouri voter. Voters should have the option to cast an absentee ballot without a notary or an excuse, and we should have a robust early voting framework that includes extended weekday and weekend voting.
Milkayla Allen (they/them) is the Electoral Justice organizer for Action St. Louis, a grassroots organization focused on building black political power in our region.
Kaepernick. Colin was the brave football player who took a knee during the playing of the national anthem. He explained to the press that his demonstration was to bring long- overdue attention to black males being beaten and killed by white policemen. Many players took a knee, but they decided to make an example of Colin Kaepernick, so they blackballed him thus ending his career in pro football.
Trump called the players kneeling SOBs and said the owners should fire them.
Goodell is paid $40 million a year to carry out the directions of the team owners. Nine of the 32 owners gave millions to the Trump campaign and inauguration party. They are Jimmy Haslam (Cleveland Browns), Edward Glazer (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Woody Johnson (New York Jets), Shahid Khan
(Jacksonville Jaguars), Stan Kroenke (Los Angeles Rams), Robert McNair (Houston Texans), Robert Kraft (New England Patriots), Daniel Snyder (Washington Redskins) and Jerry Jones (Dallas Cowboys).
In the 1960s when I marched as youth vice-president of the New Hanover County NAACP branch, there was only one white person marching with us, my Catholic priest, Fr. Swift. Today many of the marchers/ protesters are white and other races. Some of Dr. King’s dreams are starting to happen. If we, the people, study, boycott, work, march, fight the power, register, vote and pray together, we shall overcome. James J. Hankins Wilmington, N.C.
Guest Columnist Milkayla Allen
Guest Columnist Andrea S. Boyles
Sorors in prayer
Moving from protests to transformative change
Four years ago, the Coalition Against Police Crimes launched Re-imagining Public Safety as a public education campaign to disclose how much money the City of St. Louis was spending on a failed arrest-and-incarceration model. The workshops that took place all over the city allowed participants to re-imagine what real public safety could look like if those millions of dollars were invested in human needs.
Fast forward to the demand to Defund the Police, and we hear those same local conversations amplified in national debates.
Black Lives Matter protesters have been in the streets since the cold-blooded murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis cops. The demand from the streets to defund police departments has resounded across the country because cities have come to the same realization. The budgets of police continue to balloon while social services and programs get cut. “Defund the Police” means different things to different people, and the meaning falls along a wide spectrum. BLM activists and allies are demanding that police be taken out of schools, the end to SWAT and chokeholds, the use of mandatory police body cameras, the end to hyper-surveillance, and the ban of so-called nonlethal weapons such as flash bangs, rubber bullets, tear gas and bean bag ammo. Savings would be pumped into community mental health services, housing programs, youth recreation, training and employment, childcare, parks, and education.
In Chicago, the police had a $33 million contract for resource officers when counselors and nurses are all but absent. These lucrative contracts keep police employed and contribute mightily to the school-to-prison pipeline. Millions of students attend schools were there are no counselors, nurses, psychologists, or social workers. Investment in these positions would better address the challenges our young people face.
Many Defund advocates are abolitionists interested in decreasing the size and scope of police departments until they no longer exist as we know them. Their belief is that given the origin of police in slave patrols, there is no reforming the institution. Nothing short of abolition will do. The only issue up for debate is how long abolition will take.
What we don’t need to spend money on is another damn study! Some would argue that training—of any kind—for police is a waste of tax dollars. Implicit bias training has not ebbed the contempt of white officers towards Black and Brown people. Body cams have not been that helpful in convicting cops, only traumatizing us more as we take in the horrific images of police murder re-runs.
Sacred police budgets have continued to increase even in the face of declining violent crimes. The budgets are untouchable during city financial crises. St. Louis city has a $40 million budget shortfall due to the COVID-19 crisis. Will the city budget be balanced on the backs of Black working people, the very victims of police violence?
Knocking down Confederate statutes or making changes to Aunt Jemima on the pancake box are symbols of white supremacy. Let’s not get the strategy twisted. Dealing with those symbolic reminders of oppression are important but they don’t change the real power dynamics in this country. If they changed Jemima’s name to Zuri and put her in African attire, police terrorism of Black communities would not stop. If Juneteenth were made a national holiday tomorrow, we would still have a huge racial income gap in this country.
While communities are united in the moment around the need for some kind of police reform, let us center ourselves on a few key guiding principles. We should not support any reforms that consolidate state or corporate power. We should not lend resources or support any policy that harms Black lives. And we should work toward a genuine re-alignment of political and economic power.
Sorors Toni Bryant and Shinita Jones joined in prayer when the National Pan-Hellenic Council of St. Louis held a Divine 9 Family Unity Prayer Vigil at the Ferguson Empowerment Center in Ferguson on Saturday, June 20.
Photo by Wiley Price
Jamala Rogers
views. On Monday morning, President Trump retweeted a video of the interaction.
The man and woman were quickly identified as St. Louis personal injury lawyers Mark McCloskey and Patricia McCloskey, a married couple. Patricia McCloskey’s biography on her website says she is on the Missouri Bar Association’s Ethical Review Board.
St. Louis Prosecutor
Kimberly Gardner issued a statement saying that the two would be investigated by her office. She stated that she was “alarmed at the events that occurred over the weekend, where peaceful protesters were met by guns and a violent assault.” She added that her office is “currently working with the public and police to investigate these events.”
On the other hand, the only incident report provided by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department listed the McCloskeys as victims. According to the police, the McCloskeys said that they were not initially armed when the protest group began to walk past their house.
“Once through the gate, the victims advised the group that they were on a private street and trespassing and told them to leave,” the report reads. “The group began yelling obscenities and threats of harm to both victims. When the victims observed multiple subjects who were armed, they then armed themselves and contacted police.”
However, the police incident report contradicts eyewitness video from the protest, which shows the group
Salute
Continued from A1
to our community,” said Dr. Denise Hooks-Anderson, med-
moving through the gate to see an already armed Mark McCloskey.
As of yet, the McCloskeys have not been charged with any crime, and their lawyer asserts their innocence, though their conduct could be consistent with unlawful use of a weapon.
Missouri Statute 571.030, subsection 4, states that a citizen is committing unlawful use of a weapon if they “exhibit, in the presence of one or more persons, any weapon readily capable of lethal use in an angry or threatening manner.” Unlawful use of a weapon is a
ical accuracy editor for The St. Louis American. “So, we believe this celebration of our health care heroes and the work they do is more important than ever.” Several awardees have been
Class D felony in most cases with a range of punishment of between one day to one year in jail or up to 4 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $5,000.
Missouri’s Castle Doctrine, however, puts this case in more of a grey area: it allows people to use deadly force to attack an intruder on their property.
At noon on Monday, the McCloskeys released a public statement through their lawyer, Albert S. Watkins, who claimed that the McCloskey’s actions were lawful in that their property sits on a private and
profiled in previous editions of The American: Lifetime Achiever in Health Care Rosetta Keeton, director of Patient Access at the St. Louis Regional Health Commission; Stellar Performer in Health
gated road.
“Both Mr. and Mrs. McCloskey acted lawfully on their property which sits on a private gated lane in the City of St. Louis,” Watkins claimed. “Their actions were borne solely of fear and apprehension, the genesis of which was not race-related. In fact, the agitators responsible for the trepidation were white.”
It is not clear what “trepidation” Watkins refers to. There are no available videos or other reports of protesters physically threatening the couple or approaching them.
Care Dr. LJ Punch, founder and director of Power4STL, which focuses on bullets, COVID, homelessness and opioids; Health Advocacy Organization of the Year the Deaconess Foundation, which focuses on
Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI
Though the McCloskeys’ gun-toting images went viral as memes of white rage in unhinged defense of white privilege, Watkins made the incredible claim that they are “supportive” of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Their behavior did not seem “supportive” to U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay.
“The rights of non-violent protestors are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and should never be subject to the threat of deadly force, whether by individuals or by the police,” Clay said.
serving our children and most vulnerable communities; and Dr. Kanika Turner, associate medical director at Family Care Health Center, recipient of the Dr. John M. Anderson Excellence in Mental Health
Patricia McCloskey points a gun at protestors as they make their way past the McCloskey home in the Central West End on Sunday, June 28.
The prosecuting attorney with the authority to file charges against the McCloskeys couched her concerns in terms that refer back to the reason for the protest action. Krewson publicly announcing the names and addresses of people calling for her to defund the police was seen as an egregious act of intimidation.
“We must protect the right to peacefully protest,” Gardner said, “and any attempt to chill it through intimidation or threat of deadly force will not be tolerated.”
Award, presented in partnership with the St. Louis County Children’s Service Fund. Profiles of the eight Excellence in Health Care Awardees are available in this edition of the paper. They are: Kimberly Carter of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital; Martin Gitonga of Barnes-Jewish Hospital; Kimberly Hurst of the VA Medical Center in St. Louis; Tesh Jewell of Mercy Clinic East; Helen V. Lane of St. Louis Public Schools; Dr. Leslie McCrary-Etuk of Care STL Health; Ntasiah Shaw of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health; and David Swingley of People’s Community Action Corporation.
Last year, the St. Louis American Foundation fostered $1.25 million in college scholarships to high-potential, local African-American students. Since its inception in 1994, the St. Louis American Foundation and its partners have now invested $7.2 million in the St. Louis community.
Though the free virtual presentation limits the Salute’s potential to raise funds for these scholarships, it also offers opportunities.
“These challenging times have presented an opportunity for us to reimagine the presentation of our foundation’s successful model and present our Salute programming to a broader audience,” said St. Louis American Foundation President Donald M. Suggs.
“Our producing partners, presenters and staff have risen to the challenges of transforming a distinctly social public event into a virtual experience that will empower, inspire and honor those within the field of healthcare. As we face an unprecedented crisis that requires their expertise and service now more than ever, they deserve our celebration and support now more than ever.” The 20th annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards will be held online 7 p.m. Thursday, July 9. Anyone may watch it at http://www. stlamerican.com/ or https:// tinyurl.com/STLAmerican-tube. For an opportunity to win three cash awards of $500, $500 and $1,000, register at givebutter. com/salutehc.
Continued from A1
inauguration.
Mayor Ernest “E.G.” Shields spoke briefly, as did his many guests. This was remarkable, given that half of the speakers, including the mayor himself, are clergy. Shields was one of three preacher mayors from North County who spoke. Rev. Brian Jackson, mayor of Beverly Hills, and Rev. Tommie Pierson, mayor of Bellefontaine Neighbors, also spoke.
Like Millett, Shields called for civic engagement. He mocked what he called “living room revolutionaries” who “sit in their living rooms talking about what is wrong and how corrupt things are, yet do nothing.” He pointed to one thing that everyone “can do,” and that is complete the 2020 Census form.
“Fill out that Census form you have been hiding,” Shields said. “They’re not trying to get too much into your business. They already know you’ve got more people living in your house than you’re supposed to.” The crowd, many of them related to the mayor, laughed at that remark. His son ran his mayoral campaign, and that son’s son held up the Bible when the mayor was sworn in; all three men are preachers named Rev. E.G. Shields. When the singers delivered gospel selections, the crowd sang in response. It was in every sense a family affair, though enjoyed at a social distance behind protective masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Shields said he campaigned on affordable housing, safe streets and community policing and will deliver on all three. He also promised “to continue the growth we’ve grown accustomed to in the past few years.”
His predecessor, the recently deceased Mayor Mary L. Carter, worked hard with Beyond Housing to develop Pagedale for decades. There is a Midwest BankCentre Branch, a grocery store, movie theater and two senior homes — one named for Rosie Shields, the new mayor’s late wife. The new mayor served on the Board of Directors for Beyond Housing until he was termed
n “I hope more people show up at City Hall. Your being there makes a difference in how things go down. This is your city.”
– 1st Ward Alderperson Faye Millett
out last year.
Beyond Housing President and CEO Chris Krehmeyer
Krewson
Continued from A1 nation,” St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones said on social media. “Constituents should not fear retaliation for expressing their opinions on how our government aligns its spending priorities.”
Krewson’s actions – and those of local attorneys Mark McCloskey and Patricia McCloskey pointing firearms at protestors marching for Krewson’s resignation on Sunday, June 28 – appeared in news outlets from Fox News to The Washington Post
“It would be wonderful if for once our city could make national news for the right reasons, like closing the Workhouse and defunding police,” said Ward 15 Alderwoman Megan Ellyia Green. “Instead we seem to always be the example of what not to do.”
The doxing has spread fear among the St. Louis activist community. After all, the police department that Krewson administers, and which they seek to defund, are the subject of dozens of lawsuits alleging brutality against citizens who protest them – and those acts of police violence were committed on public streets.
One person exposed by Krewson, whose name will not be repeated here, said they were “disturbed” by Krewson broadcasting their name and address. They said they considered staying with friends because they were scared of the exposure.
“That kind of signaling from the mayor to the police force, who we already know from experience have intimidated people, is frightening,” they said. “There’s a lot of scary white supremacists and Nazis and trolls on the Internet, but the police are a whole other layer. Those folks have even more tools to potentially harm and harass.”
Thousands have expressed their fear in tweets under the #krewsonresign hashtag. “Mayor Krewson trying to get us killed because we disagree with her police funding budget,” stated one tweet.
Another person whose name was broadcast by Krewson was arrested the next day. The doxed activist’s arrest –
which was captured on video – took place as protestors demonstrated outside of the Florissant Police Department. Activists have been consistently present at the department in response to a man being hit with an unmarked police video and then kicked and struck during a violent arrest. The detective, Joshua Smith, has since been fired and charged with assault. Several hundred protestors marched in the Central West End, where Krewson lives, on June 28 to demand Krewson’s resignation and to call to defund the police and close the Workhouse. Organized by Expect Us and Respect Us, protestors faced barricaded streets and gun-toting property owners as they chanted, “Lyda Krewson has to go.”
Other public officials and
city leaders have joined the protestors’ demand in public social media comments.
“No leader should resort to intimidation of the residents they were elected to represent,” said Ward 20 Alderwoman Cara Spencer. “Period.”
“I am disappointed and angered by the actions of our mayor,” Ward 25 Alderman Shane Cohn said. “Her actions were irresponsible and unethical.”
Cohn said the Board of Aldermen is looking into actions it could take against the mayor.
Krewson has said she will not resign. The next election for St. Louis mayor is in 2021.
The petition calling for Krewson’s resignation is at https://tinyurl.com/Lydaresign.
spoke at the inauguration, touting new developments and expressing confidence that Shields will continue to work that Carter began in revitalizing Pagedale.
Shields called for a moment of silence for the late former mayor. Their relationship extended back four decades. Carter, then a church clerk, signed Shield’s ordination
by
papers as a pastor in 1971. She later mentored him politically and endorsed him for mayor and died the day after he won on Election Day.
As St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell said, Shields is not starting a new chapter after 28 years of Mayor Carter’s service. “This,” Bell said, “is a whole new book.”
St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson read the names and addresses of citizens calling for the city to defund the police on a Friday, June 26 Facebook Live broadcast.
Rev. Ernest “E.G.” Shields was sworn in as mayor of Pagedale by Circuit Judge Renee Hardin-Tammons in Pagedale City Park on June 25. His wife Gracie M. Shields observed the ceremony, and his grandson Rev. E.G. Shields III held the Bible.
Photo
Wiley Price
Tune in to the virtual Health Salute
The 20th Annual Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards will be celebrated online as a free virtual event at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 9. For additional details and to register, visit givebutter.com/salutehc.
Experienced, committed, compassionate
Kim Carter of SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital
What is your current health care position?
What are your responsibilities in this position?
I work in Compliant Documentation Management Department as a Clinical Documentation specialist at SSM Health St. Mary’s Hospital. I perform concurrent review of the patient’s medical record to assure that the documentation is accurate, consistent and compliant. I assure that the documentation captures secondary diagnoses and Hospital Acquired Conditions to accurately reflect the patient’s severity of illness, risk of mortality, and to optimize the DRG (diagnosis-related group) and reimbursement.
How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?
I feel that I make a difference is this position because of my experience, commitment, flexibility and compassion for my work.
Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed.
may be hired for St. Mary’s but can review records at DePaul if the need is greater.
Mentors are crucial to the development of a successful professional. Tell us about a mentor and how that person guided you.
I have two mentors who were instrumental to my career development – Lorraine Jones, head nurse Abdominal Transplant, and Dr. Paul Garvin, Transplant surgeon. I would like to thank Lorraine for selecting me as her assistant head nurse and Dr. Garvin for selecting me as an Abdominal Transplant coordinator. I would like to thank both of them for believing in me and for their patience with me as a new leader. They taught me to be accountable and professional and showed me how to be a great leader.
Do you have a previous position that helped prepare you for this work? If so, tell us about that.
My previous position as an Abdominal Transplant coordinator helped prepare me for my current position as Clinical Documentation specialist by teaching me to educate patients and family on pre- and posttransplant care; review of the patient’s medical, surgical, social, and family history; review of the patient’s laboratory and diagnostic testing needed to be listed for transplant and schedule annual testing as needed. This was the beginning of my documentation journey. Tell us about your experiences as a student that prepared you for this work.
My team consist of doctors, nurses, and coders. I work with an amazing group of coworkers and administrators who are knowledgeable, caring, kind, flexible, devoted, and supportive. They are all willing to assist in any way that they can to get the job done!
COVID-19 has disrupted all of our work and lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting?
COVID-19 initially disrupted my work by the decreased number of hospital admissions and the number of staff that were needed to perform our job. We are a flexible department as we are able to assign and review cases from any of the SSM Health St. Louis hospitals. For example, a Clinical Documentation specialist
‘I am honored to serve veterans’
Kimberly A. Hurst of VA St. Louis Health Care System
What is your current health care position? What are your responsibilities in this position?
My current health care position is a Community RN Care manager for John Cochran Veterans Hospital. In this position I process Orthopedic, Physical Therapy, Oncology and Interventional Radiology consults for veterans to be seen by community providers when we don’t offer the service or can’t provide it in a timely fashion.
How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?
I am very detailed oriented and dedicated to finding the veteran the best community provider that fits his/her needs. I am more concerned about the quality of my work than the quantity. I’d rather process five consults that match the best provider to the veteran and meets the veterans needs all around than 10 just to say I got the job done.
Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed. My team helps me succeed by showing up and being willing to tackle the workload each day. We huddle each morning to discuss our plan of the day, and then it’s ready, set, go. If any one of us has an issue, questions or concerns about any of the consults, we are all there to bounce ideas and or solutions off each other to get the issue solved.
I worked on the General Surgery unit on the weekend as a student nurse. This allowed me to interact with patients and family, as well as develop my nursing skills and to develop a working relationship with the physicians, nurses and unit secretaries.
Missouri voters have an opportunity to expand Medicaid with Amendment 2 on the August 4 ballot. Expand Medicaid in Missouri – yes or no? Why or why not?
I vote yes to expand Medicaid. I believe that everyone should have access to health care regardless of their socioeconomic status. Is there anything about your personal life that you would like to share with the public celebrating your award?
I am married to Robert Carter and we have five children and six grandchildren. I volunteer at Faith Miracle Church as director of Health Care Ministry.
office. Those in the office would do the leg work those at home couldn’t do. We adapted very well and learned a true meaning of teamwork.
Mentors are crucial to the development of a successful professional. Tell us about a mentor and how that person guided you.
The mentor that guided me was my very first preceptor while in nursing school. Her name was Vickie. No matter what the situation was, she always remained calm. Being a nurse, you can see situations go from good to bad really quick, but she always taught me to keep my cool and never let them see you sweat. You always want the patient and family to feel confident in the nurse and their abilities provide excellent care and, in many cases, save their lives. If they see the nurse lose it, it will be more difficult for them to focus on getting well.
Do you have a previous position that helped prepare you for this work? If so, tell us about that.
COVID-19 has disrupted all of our work and lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting?
COVID-19 has disrupted my work by cancelling appointments and services that would normally have been provided to the veterans in the community. We had to maintain physical distance in the office setting. We learned how to work from home with limited ability to access all the resources we would normally be able to in the office. Half would work from home, while the other half worked in the
I started out as a patient care tech on a Med-Surge Trauma floor, where I became a nurse, charge nurse and assistant manager. Working trauma for over 15 years helped me to develop critical thinking skills. It can mean a person’s life. Although I do not have patient contact anymore, those same critical thinking skills are used daily when trying to provide the veteran with the right provider for his needs.. Tell us about your experiences as a student that prepared you for this work.
As a student a patient went into cardiac arrest. She was a young woman who had just had a baby. Non-medical family members are led by emotions; no matter what we do to save their loved one, it will never be enough. The lady was gone and the doctors did all they could to save her, but the husband was not satisfied. Over an hour I watched them work on her, and they knew she was gone. It was because the husband was there and demanded that they not stop. I realized then: do not make promises to patients and/or family members and always be honest. I was a single mother with four children when I started nursing school. I was in my early 30s and I wasn’t as young nor did I think I was a smart as my classmates. But I had God on my side, I worked hard, and here I am. I would like for young single mothers to know that they can be anything they want to be in life. I’m living proof.
‘Serving the community is a ministry’
Leslie McCrary-Etuk of CareSTL Health
What is your current health care position?
I currently serve as a board-certified Family Medicine physician providing comprehensive quality care to children and adults of all ages. I have a special interest in obesity medicine and diabetes care particularly since evidence has been shown that obesity management may slow the progression from pre-diabetes to diabetes. In addition, I collaborate with midlevel practitioners, both medical students and resident physicians.
How do you feel you are able to make difference in this position?
I don’t take it lightly the fact that I have been given the opportunity to impact the lives of others. Serving the community is a ministry for me. One of my most rewarding experiences is when an uninsured patient obtains health coverage and lets me know that they have made a choice to continue their care with myself, stating, “When I was uninsured, you took great care of me. I will not go anywhere else.”
to continue caring for patients through virtual visits which have been received well by many of my patients. The use of virtual visits (both audio and video) provide not only continuity of care, but also comfort to many who otherwise have felt abandoned during this period of quarantine without the need to leave their home. I believe we will see victory particularly when we realize the many resources that are available.
I will say, to date, the majority of my patients are extremely proactive and align with the recommended preventative measures that are in place for wearing mask and practicing social distancing.
Do you have a previous position that helped prepare you for this work? If so, tell us about that. I served as the chief medical resident during the last year of my residency training at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn NY. It prepared me for such a time as this, and I am forever thankful to my then Department leaders, Drs. DeRose, Vincent and Aghabi. Hindsight is 2020, as I appreciate and value now more than ever the periods during my family medicine residency training where the workload was extremely challenging.
Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed?
Our patient care team is unique. The extended primary care team is interdisciplinary and includes but is not limited to the primary care/ behavioral health model, nursing support, clinical pharmacist and ancillary services for which I depend on for success. We as a team have the grace to endure trials, pandemics, chaos and crisis.
COVID-19 has disrupted all of our work and lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting?
The current pandemic has introduced fear, anxiety, hopelessness, and uncertainties. Particularly, these realities have been more devastating to the vulnerable population that Care STL Health serves. There appears to be both an economic and public health approach to this pandemic with different strategies to lessen the gravity.
Yet, I have utilized the available resources
‘Resiliency, compassion and passion’
Martin Gitonga of Barnes-Jewish Hospital
What is your current health care position?
Patient Care manager
What are your responsibilities in this position?
Clinical, Operational and people Leader for nurses, Patient Care technicians, unit coordinators, nurse practitioners, and surgical technologies in Otolaryngology, Neurosurgery, Spine and Robotics (Spine, Neuro and ACCS).
How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?
Empowering, supporting and being there for the team makes all the difference. The team knows we are all in this together and the focus is the patient. We take care of the patients while caring for each other.
Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed.
Mentors are crucial to the development of a successful professional. Tell us about a mentor and how that person guided you. Hands down, my mother was my most valuable mentor. She would always share a quote with me: “Good Better Best, Never Stop Until Your Good is Better and Your Better is Best” (unknown author). Missouri voters have an opportunity to expand Medicaid with Amendment 2 on the August 4 ballot. Expand Medicaid in Missouri – yes or no? Why or why not?
I will vote Yes on Amendment 2 which will allow more uninsured adults to have access to health care and the ability to seek health care earlier. Voting Yes for Amendment 2 will ultimately reduce the rising cost of health care in Missouri. More persons would be able to seek primary and secondary preventive care before disease processes begin and reduce acute care visits to the Emergency Department. Is there anything about your personal life that you would like to share with the public celebrating your award?
To God Be the Glory.
I truly know my purpose in life and have an amazing supportive fan club – my extended family, friends and faith community. You all know who you are and what you mean to me! To David, my husband and best friend for 30 years, Elayna and Emmanuel, aka “Manny,” my awesome children, you all are my inspiration.
and how that person guided you.
Roshi has been my mentor. Her approach to the workplace and approach to problem solving including her people skills, motivation, energy and empowerment encourages me to be a better manager every day.
Do you have a previous position that helped prepare you for this work? If so, tell us about that.
The clinical background as a surgical technologist and nurse combined with leadership mentoring shapes how I support our team.
Tell us about your experiences as a student that prepared you for this work.
We celebrate our wins, tackle our challenges together and, when we don’t get something quite right as we intended, we come together and strategize how to make it right.
COVID-19 has disrupted all of our work and lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting?
The way we navigate and interact with each other at our workplace and in the community has changed. We are ensuring that we have the right protective equipment in use and taking care of the ourselves as we care for the patients.
Mentors are crucial to the development of a successful professional. Tell us about a mentor
I am still a student to this day, always pushing my limit, growing my skills, ability and knowledge to ensure I show up as my best self. Missouri voters have an opportunity to expand Medicaid with Amendment 2 on the August 4 ballot. Expand Medicaid in Missouri – yes or no? Why or why not? Absolutely. Expansion of Medicaid will allow over one quarter million Missourians at or below the federal poverty level to access health insurance. This insurance will allow them the capacity to seek medical care in a timely fashion. This will reduce the incidents where people wait until they are advanced in illness before they are forced to seek treatment often times in an emergent fashion. Just as important, this will enable Missouri to create more jobs while allowing for healthier Missourians. Is there anything about your personal life that you would like to share with the public celebrating your award?
Our past influences us. Our present decisions influence what we become in the future. We just have to find those that believe maybe more than we believe
Problem solver for patient care
Tesh Jewell of Mercy Hospital
What is your current health care position?
What are your responsibilities in this position?
Vice president of Operations for Adult Primary Care, Mercy Clinic St. Louis. I’m responsible for all aspects of primary care operations for practices in the St. Louis division which includes over 170 physicians and advanced practice providers operating in over 30 locations. This includes overall accountability for financial performance, clinical quality and patient experience. Critical to this role is the development of strategic plans that drive value and enhance patient care. Equally important is maintaining physician and coworker relationships that are conducive to a positive and collaborative work environment.
How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?
I consider it a privilege to work with and on behalf of our talented and hardworking physicians, APPs and clinical teams.
I view my role as one of problem solver to ensure they can focus on their No. 1 priority of patient care as well as advocating for solutions that improve the overall experience for our patients, coworkers and providers. In this role, I’m able to develop policies, new strategies and implement solutions that ultimately impact patient care.
ers that work side by side with our providers delivering care. Last but definitely not least, I have the most amazing executive assistant in the world, Bonnie Dickerson. COVID-19 has disrupted all of our work and lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting?
As the leader over primary care operations, I take supporting the safety of my community and my teams very seriously. And to balance those priorities, we have had to do a number of different things in order to continue to provide care in a safe manner. Some of those things we implemented because of COVID-19 are implementation of video visits, modifications to the registration and check in processes, implementing additional measures to greatly reduce/ eliminate crowds in the waiting room, wearing PPE when necessary when providing care, and temperature and symptom checks before entering our clinics and facilities.
Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed?
I have an amazing team of leaders and coworkers that I am blessed to work with. First, is my dyad partner, Dr. Jason Hand, who is the department chairman of Adult Primary Care in St. Louis and also the Primary Care Specialty Council leader for our ministry. We work in partnership to ensure the needs of our department are met as Mercy values the contributions of both physician and administrative leadership in the decision-making process.
We also have several assistant department/ section chairmen that assist us with different areas within our department. I also have several directors that help provide additional support to our practices and over 25 managers providing day-to-day operational support within our clinic sites. Not to mention the hundreds of cowork-
Everyone is our patient
Ntasiah K. Shaw of the Saint Louis County Health
What is your current health care position? What are your responsibilities in this position?
I am the Emergency Preparedness Program manager with the Communicable Disease Control Services Division of the St. Louis County Department of Public Health. I manage a staff of Emergency Response planners. Our primary role is to plan for and develop emergency operations plans and procedures. Our main focus is planning for bioterrorism attacks and dangerous disease outbreaks. These agents can be weaponized and used against the public to cause wide-spread fatalities.
We plan to mitigate these attacks as well as exercise our plans on how to dispense mass amounts of medical countermeasures to the public to prevent the disease and/or death. We also plan for additional hazards, such as natural, chemical, radiological, and nuclear incidents. We partner with local, state, federal, private, public, and volunteer agencies who may assist us during a response. How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?
Mentors are crucial to the development of a successful professional. Tell us about a mentor and how that person guided you.
One of my current mentors is a phenomenal and influential executive leader within my organization. She has always been an advocate, supporter/ encourager and role model for me. When dealing with difficult professional situations, I can always count on her for sound guidance as I navigate through those challenges. And I value the personal investment that she is making in me to help me develop and excel as a leader.
Do you have a previous position that helped prepare you for this work? If so, tell us about that.
My clinic internship that I had in graduate school really cemented my love for clinic operations but also assisted me in developing the critical thinking skills and collaborative skills that have really become hallmarks of my leadership style.
Tell us about your experiences as a student that prepared you for this work.
I received a wonderful education from Washington University and Washington University School of Medicine. It really propelled me into a new and diverse world. As someone who grew up in a working-class family with limited exposure to other cultures, I did not have a lot of opportunities growing up but I had a lot of love and support from my family who valued a good education. Then to have a collegiate and graduate experience as rich and diverse in culture based on the new relationships that were formed really enhance me personally.
A pandemic is what our team is designed for! However, it has caused us to re-think the way we now have to consider emergency response operations and protocols, particularly because there is no vaccine or other medication to counter it; and it’s communicable. We have had to brainstorm internally as well as with regional partners to consider nonpharmaceutical mitigation measures that we may not have had to think about before and how these measures must be incorporated into every area of our lives.
Mentors are crucial to the development of a successful professional. Tell us about a mentor and how that person guided you.
One of my many mentors is a former boss. He took the time to listen to my concerns and then did something! He also offered solutions and recommendations when I may not have been going in the direction that I needed to be going in. He wanted to see his staff succeed, so he encouraged us, he made sure to offer recognition and appreciation to whom it was due.
I feel that I and my staff make an impactful difference simply through educating and informing the county government departments as a whole and educating the public. Teaching and training people on what they need to know and how they should respond and the services we can offer can be the deciding factor between life and death sometimes.
Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed. While we are not a team of health care workers in the traditional sense, we see everyone as our patient. A public health emergency has the capability to affect each of us, no matter the race, economic or social status, or our profession. My staff helps me to succeed by their diligence in their various areas of expertise. COVID-19 has disrupted all of our work and lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting?
Do you have a previous position that helped prepare you for this work? If so, tell us about that.
Before I became an Emergency Response planner and ultimately the manager, I was in emergency communications. I have been in some form of emergency response for over 20 years. I was a full-time (and currently still a part-time) emergency 9-1-1 police dispatcher. Emergency communications has taught me that everyone has to be considered the same. Just like in public health, it doesn’t matter what our race, economic, social, religious, sexual preference or status is; when a person dials that number, they are in need of HELP!
Tell us about your experiences as a student that prepared you for this work. I was attending a course for dispatchers at the police academy. This was the first time that I heard of Emergency Management and became curious. I was also a volunteer with the St. Louis Chapter of the American Red Cross Disaster Services and came across the School for Public Health at St. Louis University. They had a graduate program to obtain a certificate in Biosecurity and Disaster Preparedness. As I was completing my courses, I soon realized the benefits of completing the entire Master’s program, so that is what I did; and it has indeed prepared me for exactly what I do now! Who would have thought? My experience, education, and training has prepared me for exactly this.
‘I have always been from the North Side’
Helen Virginia Lane of St. Louis Public Schools and BASIC
What is your current health care position? What are your responsibilities in this position?
I am a mental health rehab nurse with Black Alcoholics Substance Information Center (BASIC), where I work on rehab health issues, make referrals, follow up with any medical problems as part of the recovery process.
And I am a school nurse with St. Louis Public Schools, where I implement routines for daily care –first aid, administering medications, compliance with immunizations. I am part of the health team. If a student needs an individual education plan, I would be the medical component. Now we are trying to prepare for a possible return in August, so I am working on the leadership dynamic for health and safety.
How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?
we just send papers home with the student. It has forced drastic changes in our attempts to provide good health care.
Mentors are crucial to the development of a successful professional. Tell us about a mentor and how that person guided you. I have been a nurse for 46 years, so my mentors in the early days of nursing were black physicians. Dr. Andrew Spencer would always tell me, “Nurse, stay focused.” He would hand-walk me and talk to me. Judge Edwards, when I was at his school, Innovative Concept Academy – he had a principal, but he ran that school – he had a structure that moved me. And Robin Smith, the program director at BASIC, told me, “Nurse, you’ve got to remember your clientele.” A lot of our staff are recovering addicts, but I never, ever used drugs.
I am the medical component, and each person within their own area of specialty combines to make better, more effective plans of care.
Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed. There is the principal, who is our leader, and social services, family care support specialists, and counselors. Along with the other team members, we all are important to mental, physical and psychosocial leadership and guidance.
COVID-19 has disrupted all of our work and lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting?
It has strengthened my knowledge of Zoom for follow-ups and team meetings. I have had to make phone calls to talk to parents. Now we are setting up immunization clinics in hopes that parents will respond. Usually
‘Who can I help? How can I help them?’
David Swingler of People’s Community Action Corporation
What is your current health care position?
What are your responsibilities?
I am director of Youth Services for People’s Community Action Corporation. I create, arrange and implement various activities and events for the children and adolescents. I work with other individuals, schools, groups, agencies, public officials, and the community in order to provide a diverse range of services for youth and families. I ensure students receive dental, immunization, physicals at Vashon High School. I provide individual and group counseling to students with identified concerns and needs. I assist all students, individually or in groups, with developing academic, career and personal/social skills. I mentor, coordinate College Fairs, and direct College Tours. I collaborate with parents/guardians and educators to assist students with educational, career, and life planning.
How do you feel you are able to make a difference in this position?
Having the opportunity to provide direct services has really allowed me to see gaps in our community and state that don’t address the challenges that disconnect our youth. My work ethic, commitment and devotion allow me to go above and beyond for my community. As the director of Youth Services, I am able to connect with several youth who may be homeless, in unstable households, runaways or just those individuals who may need additional resources. I am able to link them with social services to assist in providing them the necessities needed to make it day to day.
Do you have a previous position that helped prepare you for this work? If so, tell us about that. I was one of the first black nurses who went to work at Washington University. I worked as a clinical research nurse when there were only two black nurses there. And I was a travel nurse in California for five years. It was so shocking. I worked in mental health, so I encountered a lot of druginduced psychosis that prepared me for BASIC.
Tell us about your experiences as a student that prepared you for this work.
As a young high school graduate, I went straight to nursing school at the St. Louis Municipal School of Nursing. We were St. Louis City Hospital Number 2 School of Nursing, which became the Homer G. Phillips Hospital School of Nursing, but then they merged in 1969. When they knew you came from City Hospital, they would say, “Give her a job,” so I got a job in the Emergency Room at Homer G. Phillips. Missouri voters have an opportunity to expand Medicaid with Amendment 2 on the August 4 ballot. Expand Medicaid in Missouri – yes or no? Why or why not?
Yes, I think we should. Is there anything about your personal life that you would like to share with the public celebrating your award?
I have always been from the North Side, North City. I live in North City. I get up in the morning and walk the streets, pick up trash. We have flowers on our streets. I rode bicycles everywhere I went until I was 32 years old.
knowing not only their immediate needs have been addressed, but they were also provided additional resources to sustain them. COVID-19 has disrupted all of our work and lives. How has it disrupted your work, and how are you adapting?
Though COVID-19 is a horrible situation, it has led my team to touch the lives of hundreds of people and families. We are now participating in providing free testing for individuals presenting symptoms. We have collaborated with agencies such as Food Bank, Metro Market, and Peoples Family of Corporations to provide fresh produce, fruit, care packages, baby food and more. The disruptive part of COVID-19 has stopped me for taking the students on the College Tour and having summer camp for our youth. Mentors are crucial to the development of a successful professional. Tell us about a mentor and how that person guided you.
My mentor has encouraged and empowered me to be the best me. He saw potential in me that I overlooked and to this day, it amazes me how I’ve been able to pull these attributes out and bring them in tuition to make a difference. I would watch him and be amazed at how he was able to accomplish so much and still love and enjoy what he did. I wanted that same feeling and outcome. So, I started speaking with him often about my goals, visions and seeking advice on how I could make a difference. Tell us about your experiences as a student that prepared you for this work.
While attending Tennessee State University I studied day in and day out. Knowing what I wanted to do at a young age, I made sure I kept my focus on the specifics of the “who and how.” Who can I help? How can I help them? I then began to volunteer. This put me in direct contact with so many people who had experiences hardships in many different areas. Is there anything about your personal life that you would like to share with the public celebrating your award?
Health care is a team sport. Tell us about your team and how they help you succeed? My team is dedicated from start to finish. We collectively work together to ensure that each and every individual or family member we meet walks away with the fulfillment of
My freshman year in high school, there was a counselor who overlooked over certain students. Unfortunately, all the attention was more focused on the A and B students, leaving other students to fall through the gaps, be dismissed, left with no resources, and no one to help push them to their highest potential. I knew this was no way any child or any person should be treated. From that moment on, I knew that I had to find a way to make a difference. I needed to be that voice, that person to say: I see you, how can I help?
JULY 2 – 8, 2020
A construction worker carried tools past metal shelves built to hold bodies in an overflow morgue, the
17.
Minority exclusion at the makeshift morgue
Less than $1K of $1.67M in public contracts went to minority firms
By Rebecca Rivas
Of The St. Louis American
In early April, officials at the St. Louis County Department of Public Health made a grim realization: the region would need a temporary morgue for anticipated deaths from COVID-19.
They worked with St. Charles County to build an overflow facility they called the Dignified Transfer Center in Earth City in about 10 days. The project cost almost $1.67 million, with St. Louis County paying more than $1.13 million and St. Charles County paying about $531,000. But, like so many other aspects of the COVID-19 crisis, business opportunities resulting from these contracts were not awarded equitably.
n Despite a county law requiring 24 percent of contract dollars go to minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs), less than $1,000 was awarded.
A joint investigation between the St. Louis American and Type Investigations found that African-American contractors earned only a tiny fraction of the publicly-financed construction dollars available. Despite a county law requiring 24 percent of contract dollars go to minority-owned business enterprises (MBEs), less than $1,000 was awarded. If minority businesses had received 24 percent of contract dollars, they would have earned nearly $400,000.
In fact, officials at the St. Louis County Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which oversees compliance of the 2018 inclusion law, were not informed about the morgue’s construction, in violation of protocol. The director of the inclusion office said her team learned about the morgue from a news broadcast.
The American has found that the county’s failure to comply with the law pre-dates the current crisis. Pre-existing “on call” contracts used for emergency situations like the morgue project were never adjusted to include the minority contracting requirement. These lapses have left Black contractors left out of business opportunity in the midst of a crisis that has impacted their community more than any other.
St. Louis County makes up the western, more suburban part of the metropolitan region and has a population of about one million people. African Americans make up about 26 percent of the county’s population. To the east, the City of St. Louis is the keeper of the iconic Gateway Arch and other tourist attractions but only has about 300,500 residents, and almost half are African-American.
Of the 500 people who had died of COVID-19 in St. Louis County as of
Four power hitters to lead United Way Campaign
By Chris King Of The St.
Louis American
Faced with unprecedented need because of the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic devastation, the United Way of Greater St. Louis has unprecedented firepower beyond its 2020 fundraising campaign. The campaign typically has two chairpersons. This campaign has spokespersons – and they are power hitters by any standard. Those four spokespersons are David Steward, founder and chairman of World Wide Technology; Kathy Osborn, president and CEO of the Regional Business Council; Penny Pennington, managing partner of Edward Jones; and Warner Baxter, chairman, president, and CEO of Ameren Corporation.
“As our region and neighbors face unprecedented challenges and impacts amid the COVID-19 crisis and the call for racial equity, our support of United Way and its work is more critical than ever,” Steward said.
“This year it’s more important than ever that those in our community who can support this work step up and continue to do so,” Osborn said.
“United Way leads our community in supporting and maintaining our region’s safety net nonprofits to help keep our neighbors whole,” Pennington said.
“Through United Way, thousands of people in our community receive vital resources, like food, shelter, mentorship for young people, job training, and so much more,” said Baxter. United Way’s Board Chair Michael Moehn noted how unique of a situation it is to have four key leaders unite to lead the campaign.
“Certainly, this year is unprecedented in all we do, and this calls for an unprecedented approach in rallying the community behind United Way,”
n “The needs of our college-bound students continue in significant ways.”
– Kim Thompson, Kwame Foundation
Because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, The Kwame Foundation has canceled its 17th annual golf tournament, which raises tens of thousands of dollars each year for scholarships for first-generation, college-bound students. The Kwame Foundation, a 501c(3) organization, is fundraising online so they can continue to help students. Donations can be made at www. kwamefoundation.org/donate. Since 2003, the foundation has endowed over $1.5 million in scholarships and grants at over 12 different universities. Although the foundation serves students of all races, the primary focus is minority students who are bright, talented, high-achieving individuals but might not otherwise have an opportunity for higher education.
“The needs of our college-bound students continue in significant ways,” said Kim Thompson, executive director of The Kwame Foundation and cofounder along with Anthony (Tony) Thompson, CEO of Kwame Building Group.
For more information on Kwame Foundation, visit www.kwamefoundation.org or call (314) 754-5619.
Will replace retiring Kristy Roberts, effective July 1
Cartelia Lucas has been selected as the principal of Parkway’s Hanna Woods Elementary, effective July 1. She replaces Kristy Roberts, who is retiring.
Lucas currently serves as principal of Highcroft Ridge Elementary. She previously served as assistant principal at both Highcroft Ridge and Ross Elementary schools. Prior to
Dignified Transfer Center, in Earth City on April
Photo by Bill Greenblatt.UPI
Cartelia Lucas
David Steward Kathy Osborn Warner Baxter Penny Pennington
Morgue
Continued from A11
June 15, 186 — about 37% — were African American. Black residents of St. Louis County are dying from COVID-19 at almost twice the rate of white residents: 77.4 per 100,000, compared to 42 per 100,000 for white residents.
“The African-African community is disproportionately dying because of COVID, and we needed to ensure that our businesses didn’t roll up and die as well,” said Yaphett El-Amin, executive director for MOKAN, an advocacy group for minority contractors.
St. Louis County isn’t the only place where minority-owned businesses have been left out of contracts for emergency building funded through the CARES Act. Throughout the country, temporary facilities for hospital overflow were built quickly as well, and it appears that minority contractors were also left out of this work.
About $721.6 million has been spent on building nearly 40 facilities nationwide. Minority-owned construction companies earned $26.2 million, or about 3.6 percent of those dollars. Black-owned businesses were awarded $66,856 in contracts — or 0.009%.
Since the American began making inquiries, El-Amin said that St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page has called on MOKAN to assist the county in writing inclusion language for awarding federal COVID-19 response dollars going forward.
“We are going to make these changes,” said Page’s spokesman, “and we’re going to work with our procurement department. We’re going to work with our Office of Diversity, and we’re going to work with minority contractors to assure that there are no carve-outs or exemptions to the bidding process — emergency or not.”
‘It’s a total disregard for us’
When media outlets began reporting on the temporary morgue in early April, Hazel Erby started getting calls from black business owners.
“They were pretty upset with me because they felt I was not fighting for them, and that wasn’t the case,” said Erby, director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “We pressed upon them that we did not know anything about it. They went around us.”
Erby told the American that her team found out about the morgue project on the news, just like county residents. Contracts had been awarded by the county’s Department of Transportation and Public Works, without her knowing. She and her team immediately started asking questions.
According to protocol, Erby’s office must be given an opportunity to review contracts to ensure compliance with the inclusion law. She said she got no information or answers.
Twelve contracts were generated to complete the temporary morgue, including ones for electric, plumbing, roofing and general contracting. The 2018 law stipulates that 24% of the money awarded to each of these contractors must go to minority-owned subcontractors. On this project, only one of those companies met that goal: Professional Environmental Engineers, or PE, the only business that is itself minority-owned. This firm received the second-lowest contract at $1,650 — $690 of that total was subcontracted to a non-minority business. The minority-inclusion stipulation was included in only one of the 12 contracts; about $450,000 for electric work, but that company, Reinhold Electric, did not award any of the money allocated for the morgue project to a minority-owned business.
One black contractor said the exclusion of minorities on this project was “unfortunate, sad and ridiculous.”
“Small businesses are getting hit harder than anyone else,” said Tony Thompson,
chairman and CEO of Kwame Building Group, a black-owned firm based in the City of St. Louis. “So you would think that when there’s an opportunity like this to provide business to smaller firms, that they would be all over it. And that has not happened. It’s almost like whenever there’s misery in the world, minority firms get the brunt of that as well.”
Thompson said the rumbling from the minority contractor community about the morgue job was immediate.
Because the project had to be completed within a week, county officials said that they largely used their “on-call contracts,” which are standing agreements with businesses that have already gone through the bidding process the county has in place in case of emergencies.
All of the on-call contractors that worked on the morgue had their contracts extended or issued after the inclusion law was in place; however, only one contract (with Reinhold Electric), included the minority-inclusion stipulation.
tor could either agree to include minorities and women at that point or they could disagree, in which case we would rebid the work. It seemed like a pretty simple solution to us.”
That was a battle that Thomas repeatedly lost during his nearly two-year tenure at the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
Doug Moore, spokesman for the county executive, said the actual execution of the emergency on-call contracts was likely appropriate in the morgue project.
“But what was not executed appropriately were these continued renewals of the contracts without amending them, so that a group is exempt” from the minority-participation requirements, Moore said.
n Minority-owned construction companies earned $26.2 million, or about 3.6 percent of those dollars. Black-owned businesses were awarded $66,856 in contracts — or 0.009%.
Jennifer Keating, acting director of administration who oversees procurement, recently told members of the St. Louis County Council’s Oversight Committee that they haven’t included the minority-participation stipulation in these agreements when they come up for extension. Keating said the terms and conditions couldn’t be changed on existing contracts, even when they were being extended.
This is one of many ways procurement officials have gotten around adhering to the inclusion law, said Jack Thomas, the county’s former chief diversity officer.
“The county counselor said we could not do that because we were changing the terms,” Thomas said. “Our position was if negotiated...the contrac-
Thomas took his position as the county’s first chief diversity officer in July 2018 and built the MWBE program from scratch. But he left his post in March after being disheartened by the program’s slow progress and constant pushback from county administration, he said. The American asked how he would have reacted if the morgue had been built without his knowledge.
“I would have been livid, and I would have let that be known,” Thomas said. “It’s a total disregard for us, our role, the community and our constituency.”
According to internal emails between Reinhold and county officials, the company was hired as the electric contractor by the general contractor, Landmark Contract Management, which is based in St. Charles County. A Reinhold employee wrote that the company was not told the morgue project was a St. Louis County job until the end of construction. The employee wrote that Reinhold was not aware it was being hired through its standing on-call contract with the county, which includes the minority-inclusion stipulation. Reinhold’s supplier, Butler Supply, accounted for all of the project’s women-owned business enterprise (WBE) participation — which was 4.2 percent.
St. Louis Electric was the minority subcontractor listed in Reinhold’s contract. James Jackson, president of St. Louis Electric, said he would have sent workers over had he been called, but they weren’t hurting for work at that time. Jackson isn’t surprised that the project had virtually no minority participation — had such guidelines not been established by the city and with other public entities in the region, his business would have never got off the ground, he said.
“A lot of these big projects — were there not minority participation requirements, obviously, they would go through their friends, their associates,”
United Way
Continued from A11
Moehn said. Having leadership from four major St. Louis entities join together in this way will help to align our local resources and create our most successful path forward.”
United Way of Greater St. Louis supports over 1 million
Jackson said. “So minority participation has definitely been an asset to me throughout the duration of my company.”
Jackson’s company has now been certified for more than 25 years, he said, and has been the prime contractor on multi-million-dollar contracts.
In a statement to the American, Reinhold said, “Reinhold Electric complied, in full, with each and every requirement provided by the owners’ representative.”
Despite county officials’ claim that they used pre-existing contracts that lacked the minority-inclusion stipulations for the morgue project, that wasn’t the case for every company. There were two major contracts that were new: the general contractor — a $375,944.07 contract — and the roofer — a $12,300 contract.
According to Thomas, minority participation could have easily been included in these two contracts, especially if the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion had been brought to the table. The businesses that were contracted have been around a long time and know how to employ minority contractors, he said.
Tony Thompson, of Kwame Building Group, agreed.
“At this juncture, everyone knows who the viable minority firms are and who they are not,” Thompson said. “However, they were able to select those majority firms to get this work done. They could have easily selected the minority firms at the same time. And they didn’t do it.”
Overall, it didn’t matter that the on-call contracts didn’t have minority participation written into them, Thomas said. The county could have simply asked the contractors: these are the goals, what can you do?
Most of the companies have some familiarity with minority-participation requirements because their other customers have them: the City of St. Louis, the St. Louis Housing Authority, Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD), and even some of the universities, Thomas said.
“It was a foreign concept to the county but not to most anybody else,” Thomas said. “You might not have had the 25 and 10 (percent minority participation), but you certainly would have had more than zero.”
‘Zero or pretty close’
The City of St. Louis has had an inclusion program to ensure the participation of minority businesses on publicly funded projects for almost three decades, but St. Louis County only established its program in 2018 when then-County Executive Steve Stenger tapped Jack Thomas.
“It was that challenge of being able to start a program from scratch in an area where there has not been one,” said Thomas, who had helped lead the city’s diversity initiatives for many years. “I knew that there would be some resistance. That was, by and large, what I
people in 16 counties throughout Missouri and Illinois to create strong and healthy communities. Additionally, United Way manages 2-1-1, a free and confidential helpline that connects people to resources and services. Since March 12, 2-1-1 has received nearly 43,000 calls, compared to 18,800 for that same time period in 2019. United Way’s annual campaign runs in the fall from
found.” Thomas brought on a team of three officials, most of whom had decades of experience working in compliance in the region.
He and his team were up against a small but authoritative group from the Office of Procurement, Department of Transportation and the county counselor’s office, who had a “vested interest” in keeping things the same, Thomas said. Thomas said these people would have preferred a weak inclusion law that had a lot of loopholes. As part of the process, the contracts had to go to Thomas’ office before they were awarded to ensure that there were sufficient minority subcontractors employed on the project — or that the contractors made “good-faith efforts” to do so. On several occasions, Thomas’ team would recommend that the prime contractor not get the contract, for a variety of reasons.
Sometimes the minority- or women-owned firms weren’t certified or were so-called pass-through companies — which is when a prime contractor agrees to pay a pass-through company, but that subcontractor agrees to subcontract the work to a non-diverse firm. Yet, the Office of Procurement would ignore Thomas’ team’s recommendations, Thomas said. In some cases, he added, they wouldn’t even tell his team that they awarded the contract. This is why the fact that protocol wasn’t followed on the morgue project wasn’t surprising, Thomas said. And the fact that the project came back with almost no minority participation was even less of a surprise. “We tend to know the outcome if nobody is pushing it up front,” Thomas said. “If there is no requirement or if it’s not stressed in the bidding process, then we know what to expect — that it will be zero or pretty close to that.” Page, the current county executive, recognizes that “change often takes far too long,” said Moore in an email, but that Page is committed to this work.
“As part of his commitment, the county executive asked MOKAN and other stakeholders to help identify the best way forward to increase the opportunities for minority-owned and women-owned businesses,” Moore said. “We look forward to working with them to move the initiative forward.
County Executive Page is grateful for the work that Hazel Erby, Jack Thomas and Fran Lyles-Wiggins have done to bring this program to life. With Ms. Erby’s continued leadership concerning diversity initiatives in St. Louis County, we hope to continue making progress so that everyone has a fair opportunity to compete for county contracts.”
This article was reported in partnership with Type Investigations.
September through mid-November. The dollars raised through campaign support 167 Safety Net agencies that help people through five impact areas: provide food and shelter, establish financial stability, foster learning, improve health, and strengthen communities. View the list of Safety Net agencies at https://helpingpeople.org/funding/.
“Dave, Kathy, Penny, and Warner are such passionate and dedicated leaders, and all have been longtime supporters of United Way,” said Michelle Tucker, president and CEO of United Way of Greater St. Louis. “This year will require collective and historical fundraising efforts to help respond to the complex challenges across our St. Louis region.” Recently, United Way has been responding to the immediate and long-term needs of the community due to COVID-19 and its economic impacts. So far, United Way has invested more than $1.2 million into nonprofits throughout the St. Louis region that are providing access to food, medicine and personal care items; rent, mortgage and utility assistance; childcare for essential workers; and mental health support. For more information and to contribute, contact 314-421-0700 or visit www. HelpingPeople.org.
“TakingCareofYou”
Jamaa Birth Village opens new clinic
Ferguson clinic offers options for low-risk pregnancy and delivery
By Sandra Jordan
Of The St. Louis American
The COVID-19 pandemic postponed the grand opening of Jamaa Birth Village’s Equal Access Midwifery Clinic in Ferguson from April to a date that is culturally more apropos, on Juneteenth. The clinic represents freedom for low-risk women and their families to choose how they want to give birth.
Certified Midwife Brittany Tru Kellman, executive director of the Jamaa Birth Village, invited socially distanced and masked guests to the June 19 grand opening at their new location at 40 N. Florissant Rd. as many others joined via a video stream of the event. She said health
n “As soon as the pandemic hit, ‘Oh, you should call Jamaa Birth Village.’ We’ve been telling y’all all this time, and now, we’re the solution.”
– Brittany Tru Kellman
clinic has been at that location for decades in Ferguson, and the building was gifted to them to continue to serve the needs of women in the community.
Any City of St. Louis resident can now get a free COVID-19 test
Any resident of the City of St. Louis may now get a free test for COVID-19. Up until now due to limited supplies, COVID-19 testing in the city has been restricted to those persons showing symptoms. Through a partnership with the St. Louis Regional Health Commission, free tests are available at the following federally qualified health centers: Affinia Health Care: 1717 Biddle St.; 8960 Jennings Station Rd.; 4414 North Florissant Ave.; 3930 S. Broadway (call 314-833-2777) Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Center: 11642 W. Florissant Ave. (call 314-627-5404)
CareSTL Health: 2425 N. Whittier St.; 5471 Dr. Martin Luther King Dr.; 5541 Riverview Blvd. (call 314-678-2460) Family Care Health Centers: 401 Holly Hills Ave. (call 314-6782460).
“Only being able to test symptomatic individuals has been similar to being in a fight with one hand tied behind your back,” said Dr. Fredrick Echols, acting director of health for the City of St. Louis. “Now that our testing capacity has increased to include testing of people without symptoms, we’ll have the opportunity to get a much better understanding on how widespread the disease is in the community.”
“It was owned by Dr. Donald Blum, and he had a practice there for many years,” Kellman said. After Blum retired, he leased it to SSM HealthCare until January 2018, which is when Jamaa found out about the location.
“Later, Dr. Blum donated the clinic to us.” Kellman said Jamaa represents a reclaiming of community midwifery care as activism, as a lifesaving mission and as a revolutionary transformation to enhance inner value, wellness and the ability to choose care that doesn’t include bias and racism from oppressive care models that can lead to preventable morbidity and mortality.
See CLINIC, A15
Justice in public health means closing Workhouse
By Brittany Ferrell For The St. Louis American
It has been over 90 days since the coronavirus pandemic began infecting our communities, disproportionately killing our people, exacerbating Black grief and disrupting the traditions of how we collectively mourn. The city is eagerly returning to business as usual as leaders have begun to move quickly to disperse federal resources and care to areas that went far too long without, setting testing sites up in areas that had none at the beginning of the local outbreak and supporting local food banks. Unfortunately, there is little to report on how people detained in jails and detention centers will be cared for. Across the nation, jails and detention centers are hot zones for COVID19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The physical impossibility of social distancing and the higher risk of exposure, as correctional officers and other staff frequently leave the facility and then return, put those who are detained at a much greater risk of contracting the virus.
n How does this apply to St. Louis? It’s hard to say because of the grave lack of transparency from city leadership on COVID-19 in the city’s jails.
The spread of the virus is not strictly confined to the walls of these facilities either. Jails and correctional facilities pose a threat to the general public as well. In Cook County, Illinois, a peer-reviewed analysis, published online by the journal Health Affairs, shows that COVID-19 case rates were significantly higher in ZIP codes with higher rates of arrest and released jail detainees. While I cannot simply infer causality, it is a reasonable assumption that people who are detained in a jail with the highest total number of cases of any single-site in the
Front: Benetta Ward, Jamaa Birth Village chairwoman and doula; Dr. Nikki Nienhaus, chiropractor; Kim Martino-Sexton, board secretary and mom’s group coordinator; Brittany Tru Kellman, certified professional midwife and executive director.
Photo by Wiley Price
Photo provided by TJS Photography
Brittany Ferrell
Rev. Oliver Patterson, pastor of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church, and Rev. Darryl Gray, political advisor to the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition, visited with Cait Van De Wiele of the Fair St. Louis Foundation when they partnered on a protective mask giveaway on Monday, June 15.
“TakingCareofYou”
13 national health orgs endorse Amendment 2 to expand Medicaid
Initiative is on August 4 ballot in Missouri
By Chris King Of The St. Louis American
Who supports Medicaid expansion in Missouri?
Pretty much every national organization representing patients facing serious chronic medical conditions. Medicaid expansion is on the statewide ballot as Amendment 2 in Missouri for the August 4 primary election.
A resounding endorsement of Amendment 2 was issued on Monday, June 22 by American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Diabetes Association, American Heart Association, American Kidney Fund, American Lung Association, Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Hemophilia Federation of America, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Missouri, National Hemophilia Foundation, National Multiple Sclerosis Society, National Organization for Rare Disorders and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.
Clinic
Continued from A14
Clients who receive prenatal care there have a range of options for their pregnancy and birthing experience.
“Our Equal Access Midwifery Clinic serves as a space to provide care for women who are low risk, meaning that they don’t have any active health complications where they need to be seen by a high-risk provider, which would be an obstetrician or a maternal fetal medicine doctor,” Kellman said.
“We provide midwifery care in the prenatal and postpartum period; we also provide doula care services. Everything that we do is wraparound – once you sign up for midwifery care, you automatically get enrolled in these other programs.” She said women can opt out of any service.
Women automatically get a doula, who assists women during prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum.
“In our clinic, women have an option of delivering at any location. So, they can choose to deliver at home, having a home birth with myself or one of the other two midwives that we work with at our clinic; or they
Workhouse
Continued from A14
entire country may contribute to community spread once released.
How does this apply to St. Louis? It’s hard to say because of the grave lack of transparency from city leadership on plans to address COVID-19 in the city’s jails or the number of cases that have been identified.
Long before St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson declared a public health emergency and limited public gatherings to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the City of St. Louis had a public health crisis of its own.
The city’s history of racist and discriminatory policies has put our communities at a disadvantage. The continued divestment from community wellness and investment in police and jails, like the St. Louis Workhouse, render our disadvantaged communities unwell and vulnerable to criminalization. Closing the
As
“Voter approval of Amendment 2, would allow the 230,000 Missourians – including low-wage frontline workers, parents who work hard at jobs that don’t offer insurance, and seniors nearing retirement who have lost their health care – access to affordable health insurance that was previously out of reach,” they stated.
“In the week ending June 13, more than 18,000 Missourians filed for unemployment because of job loss or reduced hours. Many will lose their employer sponsored healthcare and fall into what’s called the Medicaid coverage gap: their income is above Medicaid eligibility limits but too low to afford private healthcare coverage. For those managing heart or lung conditions, undergoing cancer treatment, or living with other chronic diseases, losing coverage is unacceptable and could jeopardize their health.”
They pointed out this is any-
can choose to just go to the hospital,” Kellman said.
“Then they can also choose to say that they want to deliver at one of the area birthing centers. And that means that they have to transfer over their care towards the end of their pregnancy to do so.” Kellman said most of the women served at Jamaa choose to deliver at home or at the hospital.
Jamaa’s holistic approach focuses on the body and the mind.
“We also provide mental health care counseling on site, and it’s not just for women who are displaying PMADs, which is prenatal mood and anxiety disorders. Everyone sees a counselor. Even if they say, ‘I feel great, I think I’m fine,’ we want to provide preventative care services, because we know that black women are more susceptible to having postpartum depression and psychosis and anxiety,” Kellman said. “We do that in a way to formulate a plan to make sure she has a good support system to prevent those issues.”
Community health workers assist mothers in staying on track with family and career goals.
“They are automatically enrolled with a community health worker, which helps them to navigate their family
workhouse is a long overdue public health response. The Workhouse is notorious for holding captive innocent people as 99% of people in the workhouse wait up to 250 days before being seen by a judge. Many of those incarcerated are from some of the areas that the city neglects, which are some of the same areas that have been hit the hardest by COVID-19.
Local activists and organizers, like the Close the Workhouse campaign and The Bail Project, have been pushing for the jail to be closed for years now. There is a reasonable demand being made: invest the $16 million of taxpayer money that keeps the Workhouse in operation into community wellness supports like economic and educational opportunities, affordable housing, community-based safety measures, pretrial services, and mental healthcare. The millions of dollars spent on the workhouse could improve the quality of life of those who are
for change,
thing but a strictly urban issue.
“The pandemic has also intensified the stress on Missouri’s already-struggling rural hospitals,” they stated.
“Since 2014, 10 rural hospitals in Missouri have closed, limiting access to life-saving
lives and career goals and their economic stability. We have that program to really combat social determinants of health that have been created by our racist system,” Kellman said.
“The community health worker will work with them in providing a two-year goal, to make sure they have good, safe housing; that they’re making an equitable wage if they are able to work or want to work; to make sure their career goals align with what they want to do and where they want to be; and to make sure the family has access to safe food and drinking water, transportation and other things that are really important.”
In addition to addressing mental health, mothers learn about lactation and breastfeeding. “Lactation helps them provide a successful plan of feeding, whether it’s formula or nursing, so that they don’t give up and that they don’t make mistakes – like adding too much water in the milk or other things,” she said.
Kellman said these components help mothers have fullterm births and healthy weight babies. The mothers also learn about the importance of bonding with their infant.
“A lot of women who are stressed and overwhelmed don’t know, or don’t even have the time to bond with their new
unfairly and disproportionately impacted.
Thanks to the work of local activists, the number of people at the Workhouse is steadily decreasing, meaning the Workhouse could be closed immediately. However, Jimmy Edwards, the St. Louis Public Safety director, claims that there will be a spike in crime and believes that is reason enough to keep the facility open.
The Workhouse does not keep the city safe from crime. Public safety means closing the workhouse.
Keeping the Workhouse open does not keep the people of St. Louis safe. The Workhouse has removed not a single violent police officer. The Workhouse does not offer accountability or support for survivors. The Workhouse does not address the root causes of systemic oppression that drives violence like poverty, addiction, homelessness, and lack of mental healthcare.
When I joined the Close
medical care in the event of an emergency. Medicaid expansion reduces the amount of uncompensated care provided by rural hospitals, helping them keep their doors open.”
They pointed out that the context of the COVID-19 pan-
babies – it’s more like a responsibility,” Kellman said.
The clinic’s holistic therapy for the women includes a massage therapist, pampering and self-care techniques, and chiropractic care – which helps adjust the body post-trauma. Kellman said these are services that women who are marginalized or of lower incomes do not get to access.
“We have a spa therapy space at the clinic,” she said. “It really helps women who are in their pre-conception phase or in their postpartum phase to really heal the body and release toxicity and stress that can prevent proper healing or prevent fertility.”
Kellman said her Equal Access Midwifery Clinic is the first in the state to offer such comprehensive services to address the wellbeing of women.
Opening the midwifery clinic during the pandemic meant taking additional precautions and rethinking how the space would be used. The changed the doors so clients would not have to touch knobs and once inside, there is a cleansing table to use sanitizer before entering the main reception area.
“We also have sage spray and Florida water because these are spiritual, cultural things we use to keep our energy and our mental and emotional health
the Workhouse campaign as a volunteer organizer, it was the summer before I began the Master of Public Health program at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. I joined the campaign with a solid understanding of the deleterious effects of incarceration on public health, communities, and individuals. I felt proud to be part of a team that understood the same.
It is no coincidence that the face of the campaign, Inez Bordeaux, is also a nurse, just like me. Inez’s profession as a nurse led her to the Close the Workhouse campaign. In addition to her own personal experience of being incarcerated in the Workhouse, she is a healer. The oppression communities are burdened with by the mere existence and function of the Workhouse organizes and distributes trauma therefore making healing a political act. Inez and the Close the Workhouse campaign are working to heal St. Louis and bring justice to public health. Justice in pub-
demic makes the coverage provided by Medicaid especially critical.
“Medicaid coverage includes primary and preventive care, including cancer screening, routine doctor visits, and other treatments and services that
well. So, people can use those things to ground themselves” to de-stress and be fully present, she said. “All of our staff members have masks; all of our clients have masks. They will be given masks if they don’t, but you are required to wear masks in the clinic in order to be seen.”
The clinic offers childbirth education, a mother and baby donation closet and an organic community garden. “They get to learn how to garden, and grow and harvest crops,” she said, “ and we have a nutrition classroom, so that these women can learn how to cook for themselves in a wholesome, healthy way, and take some skills with them, where they can continue that work at home.”
The midwifery clinic is funded by grants as well as diverse individual support.
“Outside of grants and donations, we do charge for our services. We do offer a sliding scale and pro bono care options, but there is still a fee, but we don’t turn anyone away,” Kellman said. “We are also able to bill for private insurance.”
As in the midwifery clinic’s name, “equal access” to Jamaa means every expectant or parenting woman, no matter her income, ability to pay, zip code, employment or insurance
lic health means closing the Workhouse.
The city is proposing to cut the Workhouse’s budget by roughly half, to about $8.8 million. That would be a step in the right direction if the city were not also cutting $1 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Krewson said that with limited resources “tough decisions” had to be made.
If Krewson thinks providing affordable housing is a “tough decision” it’s no wonder that she has not made it a public health priority. Activists, and organizers have campaigned for years, providing input and offering solutions, like closing the Workhouse so that defunding affordable housing does not have to be a “tough decision.”
Decreasing the budget for the Workhouse is a kind gesture but not what this city needs.
The Workhouse needs to be completely defunded.
In addition to the legacy of racist policies that leave our communities in distress, Black communities have suf-
Health Care Heroes
The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and Sysco Foods donated food to health care workers at Christian Hospital on June 23. Two hospital workers, Paul Drake and Melissa Vann, were chosen Health Care Heroes of the year. Behind them are Sysco Foods St. Louis President Robert Kirkland, Urban League President Michael P. McMillan and Rick Stevens, president of Christian Hospital.
our patients need, and will help many facing job loss resulting from the pandemic to continue management of existing health conditions,” they stated. Thirty-six other states have expanded access to Medicaid.
status, will receive the same access and availability to care, providers and resources as any other pregnant woman who doesn’t have barriers.
“Whether you pay or not will not change the care that you get,” Kellman said. “Our clinic personnel will never know what person paid and what person didn’t, and we have it set up that way so that nobody is treated different and that we’ll eliminate that economic bias.”
Kellman said a number of inquiries have been made to Jamaa over the last month or two, by women looking for alternatives to birthing in hospitals. Some of those referrals are coming from surprising sources.
“Actually, lot of people were told by their providers to call us, and this has never happened before,” Kellman said. “Before, when women were like, ‘I want a natural birth, I want a home birth,’ they would be ridiculed and chastised by their providers – ‘This is crazy, this is insane…’ all this crap. And as soon as the pandemic hit, ‘Oh, you should call Jamaa Birth Village.’ We’ve been telling y’all all this time, and now, we’re the solution. We’ve been the solution.”
For more information, call 314-643-7703, check social media or visit JamaaBirthVillage.org.
fered financial neglect. The city budget prioritizes incarceration over community wellness. As a result, Black communities have succumbed to various vulnerabilities in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. By keeping the Workhouse open, the city is not only putting innocent incarcerated people at risk for contracting and possibly dying from COVID-19, the city also is failing at ethical public health practices. The fiscal year in St. Louis begins on July 1. There is still time to stand on the right side of justice. There is still time for Mayor Krewson to defund the workhouse. There is still time to demand that elected officials invest in community well-being.
Brittany Ferrell, MPH, RN, is a national organizer and policy associate at Black Futures Lab, a volunteer organizer with Close the Workhouse and lead organizer at Action St. Louis.
Photo by Wiley Price
County Police Department
to undergo Public Safety Review
The St. Louis County Police Department is going to get a Public Safety Review funded by Civic Progress companies and the Regional Business Council, with no tax dollars spent on the review.
St. Louis County Executive
Dr. Sam Page and Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis President and CEO
Michael P. McMillan announced the initiative on Monday, June 29.
The review will be led by Chuck Ramsey, who cochaired President Barack Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and Daniel Oates, a national expert on community policing who retired last year as chief of the Miami Beach Police Department.
Page said that Lt. Col. Troy Doyle will coordinate their efforts within the department.
and practice, according to a release. It will explore the best ways to provide instruction, including cultural, racial, and community sensitivity training, de-escalation training, and implicit bias training.
Asked how making new investments in studying the police related to a call to disinvest in the police, Page pointed out that this study will be “paid for without taxpayer funds” and that the corporate funds for the study come from “companies with longstanding relationships with the Urban League.”
McMillan of the Urban League said they are motivated by the same incidents that have led protestors to call for change in police practices.
“I look forward to working with the community, as their input will be extremely vital to any sort of police reform efforts,” Doyle said in a statement.
“With that said, transparency has to become the standard as we move forward with this review. Anything short of transparency will lose credibility with the general public, and none of us are in the position to allow that to happen.”
The review will examine how best to implement effective community policing strategies in St. Louis County and review use-of-force training
“In the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, we have seen millions of people all across our country and in this community call for change,” McMillan said in a release, “and we have been having conversations with leaders of our civic and business community about how they can help us confront this crisis as well.”
Further, they said, the study will include a review of where other non-police professionals, such as nurses and social workers, can respond to incidents such as domestic violence, substance abuse, and mental health crises.
Page said he decided to support the study after consulting with St. Louis
found a “pattern of light discipline in investigations involving ethical failings and untruthfulness” in the department’s disciplinary process. Doyle said he understands that there are other studies of police departments that could be acted on, but if there is going to be a new study, he wanted to work on it.
“This is not a ‘check the box’ moment,” Doyle told The American. “If this is going to be intentional and meaningful, I want to be a part of it. If some things are not right, I have no problem saying that things are not right.”
Coalition demands police association fire Roorda
The Community Justice Coalition is demanding that the St. Louis Police Officers Association fire Jeff Roorda as its business agent.
County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, St. Louis County Police Chief Mary Barton and Ray Price, chairman of the St. Louis County Board of Police Commissioners.
“The St. Louis County
Public Safety Review is an opportunity to take a proven, data- and researchdriven approach and use it to address our public safety challenges,” Bell said in a statement. “We have to be able to talk about implicit bias and cultural sensitivity, because that’s the only way to address the culture changes needed in law enforcement and allow us to move St. Louis forward in a meaningful way.”
The awareness of racial bias in police work, stated by everyone committing to this effort, contradicts Barton’s previous public claim that there is no systemic racism in the St. Louis County Police Department.
“Systemic racism is ingrained in St. Louis and in our institutions, including law enforcement,” Page said in a statement. “We have to have the humility to recognize where we fall short and the urgency to do something about it.”
In that regard, the appointment of Doyle to coordinate
the study within the department is notable. One of the department’s most senior and respected African-American leaders, Doyle was passed over for chief when the police board promoted Barton, who is a white woman. When asked about the choice of Doyle, Page told The American, “The chief and the police board recognize the contributions Lt. Col. Troy Doyle can make in this effort, and they turned to Troy Doyle and asked for his help.”
Doyle had a senior position under then-Chief Jon Belmar when Belmar invited President Obama’s Department of Justice (DOJ) to review the St. Louis County Police Department amidst the Ferguson unrest. That review by the Police Foundation, conducted on behalf of the DOJ’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services and published in October 2015, found that the department lacked adequate diversity, failed to report municipal police departments that violate the U.S. Constitution, placed too much emphasis on tactical skills over community policing, and was especially disconnected from youth.
The first stated goal for the department in the 182-page DOJ report was to “improve recruitment, selection and hiring processes to address minority underrepresentation in the department.” The report also
The coalition includes the Missionary Baptist State Convention of Missouri, Social Action Commission of The African Methodist Episcopal Church, Social Justice Commission-Progressive Missionary Baptist State Convention, Coalition of Black Trade Unionist (CBTU), Organization for Black Struggle (OBS), Campaign for Respect, Fairness and Human Dignity, End Mass Incarceration, RealStlNews / Peacekeepers and the Universal African Peoples Organization (UAPO).
“Jeff Roorda is a poison pill for police-community relations,” the coalition stated. “In these times when building trust is so important between the community and police, Roorda’s answer is to attack the mayor, other city elected officials, the police chief, community leaders and taxpayers of St. Louis city.”
The coalition also accused Roorda of repeatedly lying as a police officer and fabricating police reports. The Arnold Police Department fired Roorda in 2001 for making false statements about a meeting with the chief of police. Previously he was reprimanded in 1997 for making false statements in a police report to back up another police officer.
After reading a statement on June 23, the coalition shut down Hampton Avenue in both directions in front of association headquarters for 8 minutes and 46 seconds in honor of George Floyd, remembering the time it took the Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin to choke and kill Mr. Floyd while citizens asked Police Officer Chauvin to stop. The coalition also delivered a letter to association President Jay Schroeder
File photo by Wiley Price
Lieutenant Colonel Troy Doyle will coordinate a Public Safety Review of the St. Louis County Police Department by Chuck Ramsey, who co-chaired President Obama’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and Daniel Oates, a national expert on community policing who retired last year as chief of the Miami Beach Police Department.
We
In This Together In St. Louis, Centene Corporation and its subsidiary Home State Health are committed to removing barriers of care. By working closely with our local healthcare and community partners we ensure the vulnerable populations we serve can gain access to high-quality healthcare. To learn more about how we’re helping, visit centene.com
‘John Lewis: Good Trouble’ ties the Civil Rights struggles of then and now
Documentary sheds light on legendary Congressman’s endless fight for equality
By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American
premiere Director and Producer Dawn Porter’s film “John Lewis: Good Trouble” as streets across this nation are filled with protestors. Today’s activists are demanding the end of systemic racism and police violence – and legislation is being introduced in response to the police killing of George Floyd, which compelled international unrest. The scenes are eerily similar to a time in the 1960s when a young Freedom Rider and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee leader from Alabama risked his life for Black people in the south to have the right to vote.
“We are still in the Civil Rights Movement
STL rap star Huey killed in Kinloch shooting
‘He just always loved coming on stage and doing his thing’
By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American
Hip-hop, St. Louis hip-hop in particular, was delivered a devastating blow early Friday morning when the news broke that rapper Huey was fatally shot in Kinloch on Thursday, June 25. He was 31.
“Y’all knew him as Huey, to his loved ones he was LJ! My lil cousin. They killed my cousin,” activist and rapper Bruce Franks Jr. said via Twitter. “Rest Easy! This [expletive] is hard, man!” Huey was born Lawrence Franks Jr. in Kinloch – but raised in Walnut Park. He was still a teenager when he burst onto the St. Louis hip-hop scene with a song and accompanying dance so catchy that it went global. He was so young, that he called himself Baby Huey when “Pop, Lock & Drop It” was released in 2006.
“Huey was one of the dopest MCs in St. Louis if you ever heard him,” said fellow St. Louis rap star Chingy. “He was a great individual who was full of love.” Along with his song “Oh,” “Pop, Lock & Drop It”
See Huey, B3
Art, activism and Black Lives Matter
Local artists treat boarded-up buildings with messages of the movement
By Chad Davis Of St. Louis Public Radio
Tiana Bojorquez has spent much of the past several weeks thinking about how she can capture what’s going on in the streets on a special canvas.
On boarded-up windows of the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy on Delmar Boulevard, she has fused art and activism to join the movement demanding that police stop killing black people. It took her several days to paint the colorful and bold images that read “STL Strong” and “Black Lives Matter” in red and green with the letters outlined in black.
Bojorquez is among seven artists in St. Louis who are using art to support the movement for black lives. She and many other St. Louisbased artists have taken their art to the streets to participate in Painted Black STL. The initiative aims to pay black artists who paint images on the buildings damaged and boarded up during a wave of civil unrest that occurred earlier this month. People across the country are taking the streets to demand police stop killing black people. Sometimes buildings are damaged.
A virtual concert jackpot
St. Louis rap star Chingy, seen here delivering an epic performance during his portion of the 2019 Millennium Tour last March at Enterprise Center, will be among the headliners for Fair Saint Louis’ virtual programming that will temporarily replace the annual riverfront Fourth of July celebration weekend that was canceled because of COVID-19.
Chingy among St. Louis stars to light up screens for Fair Saint Louis @Home
By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American
“I think it’s great that Fair Saint Louis is still happening in this unique way,” said multi-platinum selling rap star Chingy. He is set to hit screens everywhere on Saturday as one of the featured headliners for Fair Saint Louis @ Home.
As the nation prepares to celebrate the holiday that is typically the highlight of summer – with backyard barbecues, concerts, parties and other opportunities to fellowship – unimaginable circumstances have impeded on how we typically celebrate. A global pandemic has made it impossible to gather in the traditional sense. But Fair Saint Louis is committed to provide virtually the energy of the live shows that draw St. Louisans to the Riverfront by the tens of thousands.
n Along with Chingy, featured performers include blues group The Little Dylan Band and country music artists Alexandra Kay and Jordan Suter.
“Every year since 1981, we’ve provided the St. Louis community a Fourth of July celebration – and despite not being able to be with you at the Gateway Arch this year, we are committed to celebrating our city and the people who make it great,” said David Estes, general chairman of Fair Saint Louis. Fair Saint Louis @ Home has called upon some of St. Louis’ brightest stars to illuminate computer screens, cell phones and other digital devices in the same way the Fair Saint Louis’ culminating annual fireworks presentations have lit up the downtown skyline for the past three decades. Along with Chingy, featured performers include blues group The Little Dylan Band and country music artists Alexandra Kay and Jordan Suter.
Jayvn Solomon and his friend and coworker Tyson Baker started the initiative almost a month ago. Solomon said it’s important for him and other black artists to lend their voices to the movement.
“That’s kind of the point, right, [that] Black Lives Matter,” Solomon said. “So how we can
“It’s about togetherness and love. That’s why I’m doing it,” Chingy said. “This is one of the reasons why technology is so great – because we can still connect on your phone or your computer and people still can feel the enjoyment of me performing. And with my show, I will be letting them know that I’m reaching out to them to spread this St. Louis love.” Starting at 10 a.m. on July 4, viewers can tune in on Fair Saint Louis’ Facebook page, facebook.com/fairsaintlouis or at fairsaintlouis.
See Chingy, B4
Photo by Lawrence Bryant
See Lewis, B3
Photo by Chad Davis/St. Louis Public Radio
Tiana Bojorquez’s paintings can be seen on the boarded-up windows of the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy on Delmar Boulevard.
See Art, B3
The release of a film about the life of activist and Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.) could not have been better timed. Tomorrow, July 3, Magnolia Pictures will
The Urban League and Eta Boulé Chapter of Sigma Pi Phi Hosts Largest Food, Toiletries & PPE Distribution to Date for 5,000
On June 27, 2020, the Honorable Ella Jones, the newly elected Mayor of Ferguson, served as the special guest at the Urban League of Metropolitan Saint Louis, Inc. and the Eta Boulé Chapter of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Inc. 13th Food, Toiletries and PPE Distribution at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley. This past Saturday, nearly 5,000 deserving families utilized the drive-through event to receive more than $250,000 worth of items. Deanna Carroll and her colleagues at State Farm Insurance Company also volunteered and supported last weekend’s event. The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis were also on hand to offer voter registration and notary services to the attendees as well.
Last week, the AT&T Foundation awarded the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis with a $50,000 grant for COVID-19 Relief programs to support its weekly Food, Toiletries & Personal Protective Equipment Distributions. “The Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis has been at the forefront of providing food, toiletries, essentials and services in the communities hit hardest by unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Craig Unruh, President of AT&T Missouri. “AT&T is proud to support their ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts.” “The Urban League is very grateful to our sponsors, volunteers and supporters who have contributed greatly to the Food, Toiletries and PPE Distributions. Their support has truly made these events possible and have enabled us to serve nearly 40,000 residents throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area,” said Michael P. McMillan, President & CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.
For more information, please visit www.ULSTL.com.
Continued from B1
because we are still in the Civil Rights Struggle,” said U.S. Rep Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said in the opening scenes of the film. “Congressman Lewis gave us the blueprint – and the blueprint is to organize, mobilize and legislate.”
“John Lewis: Good Trouble” introduces Lewis at the moment he stepped from behind the shadow of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and became a critical voice within the Civil Rights Movement in his own right. The place is Selma. The year is 1965. The day would become known as “Bloody Sunday.” After an interview of Lewis explaining the significance of them marching on Selma, black and white film shows Lewis and a group of young activists face-to-face with Alabama State Troopers. An 80-year-old Lewis vividly describes the events as if he is reliving the moment exactly as it was 55 years ago.
“As we approached the bridge – we saw a sea of blue… Alabama State Troopers,” Lewis said. As the footage rolled the young activists, led by Lewis, bravely ask the troopers for a moment to talk. The troopers refused their request, telling the group there will be no moments to discuss or compromise. “It will detrimental to your safety to continue this march,” a trooper told the group who stood on the frontline representing a mass of protestors. “And I am saying this is no longer a lawful assembly. You are ordered to disperse.”
As the marchers turned around to disperse, the troopers attacked them before they could fully turn their backs to retreat. Lewis is seen on camera getting beaten and then trampled as the troopers make their way to launch an assault on other marchers.
“My knees went from under me,” Lewis said with his signature booming Southern drawl reduced to a
tremble. “I thought I was going to die on that bridge.”
The film then takes viewers to the present. Voter restriction for Blacks has resurfaced as voter suppression. Lewis is seen as active in his late 70s as he was in his early 20s traveling the country – particularly in southern states, to speak against the impending threat to the Black vote. He is also shown stumping for politicians with aligning political views – including Georgia Gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
“We are going through a difficult time in America,” Lewis said during one of many speeches. “My greatest fear is that we will wake up one day and our democracy is gone. We cannot afford to let that happen – and as long as I have breath in my body, I will do what I can.”
“John Lewis: Good Trouble,” gives a glimpse beyond the Civil Rights legend and legislator and into his beginnings. His siblings share insight on the bright boy who grew up preaching to chickens and would sneak to school, defying the demands of the family farm for the sake of his education.
The film also shares details of the circumstances in which a teenage Lewis came to meet Dr. King – and how he always referred to him as “the boy from Troy” even into adulthood.
The film beautifully texturizes the man behind the legend – a warm, kind and inviting
individual with a love for art and music, who loves to lean on humor. The film also further humanizes Lewis with a rare glimpse into his personal and family life while taking an encyclopedic overview of his career from his days as part of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee to the halls of Congress.
More controversial elements of Lewis’ career – including more depth into his contentious race for U.S. Congress against his friend and fellow activist Julian Bond – would have been an interesting to see in “John Lewis: Good Trouble.” But the film serves its purpose of paying fitting homage to Lewis’ tireless, lifelong efforts to move his country beyond the violent history of racism and into the beloved community his mentor and hero Dr. King often spoke of.
“We will restore the soul of America,” Lewis said. “There might be some setbacks and some delays, but as a nation and as a people, we will get there. “My philosophy is very simple: when you see something that is not right, not fair, not just… say something,” Lewis said. Get in trouble, good trouble, necessary trouble. That can save our country and save our democracy.”
“John Lewis: Good Trouble” will be released in theaters and on demand Friday, July 3. The film has a run time of 96 minutes. For more information, visit https://www.johnlewisgoodtrouble.com/
Huey
Continued from B1
was a guaranteed party starter on the St. Louis club scene.
Huey was a local mixtape favorite. Through his presence on “Unsigned Hype,” he caught the attention of producer TJ Chapman, who introduced Huey to Mickey “MeMpHitz’ Wright. At the time, Wright was vice president of A&R for Jive Records.
“Pop, Lock & Drop It” became the lead single for Huey’s debut album “The Notebook Paper,” which was released by Hitz Committee and Jive Records in 2007.
The album cracked the top 30 of the Billboard 200 top albums when it debuted.
Huey instantly added his name to the list of St. Louis rappers contributing to hip-hop culture overall – Nelly, Chingy, Jibbs, J-Kwon, Ali, Murphy Lee and others – most recently Smino.
“Pop, Lock & Drop it” peaked at the number six position of the Billboard Hot 100 and
Art
Continued from B1
their $15,000 goal. Baker said the project makes it easy for artists to submit their designs.
“They’re Instagramming us, we’re collecting information and now just going down the list and like, we’re asking them to, like do a quick sketch,” Baker said. “We send it to the owner, the owner gives it a checkmark, and then they go and do it.”
Some business owners didn’t want their buildings involved, but others did. Solomon said some of the seven buildings painted so far are being repaired, and the art is starting to come down. He
was followed up by “When I Hustle,” which featured R&B heartthrob Lloyd.
He continued to release albums and mixtapes – and at one point was signed to rapper Waka Flocka Flame’s Brick Squad record label.
Huey remained a St. Louis favorite over the years and continued to pursue music, most recently under the moniker Hue Hef.
“Baby Huey a legend 4ever,” Smino said via Twitter.
Huey was most recently seen on stage in St. Louis when Chingy invited him to perform a medley of STL made mainstream hits during Chingy’s set at the sold-out 2019 Millennium Tour at Enterprise Center.
“I performed with Huey many times – he just always loved coming on stage and doing his thing,” said Chingy. “We would always have fun, as you can see. He came out and we had a good time. Every time we got together, that was pretty much all it was about.”
As soon as the beat dropped for “Pop, Lock & Drop,” the entire crowd of 20,000 erupted. They simultaneously danced
n Solomon said some of the seven buildings painted so far are being repaired, and the art is starting to come down. He and Baker are thinking about what to do next.
and Baker are thinking about what to do next.
“What we are vaguely discussing is what does sort of a larger exhibit look like, compiled of the work that has been done through Painted Black, and how can we incorporate more artists and get them paid,” Solomon said.
and sang along to every word.
“Once you pop, lock, drop it for me, maybe we can roll,” the crowd rapped – joining in with Huey as his personal chorus.
“Huey was full of love, full of joy and he just wanted to have a great time and make sure people enjoyed it,” Chingy said. “So when we came together, you got a double dose of that.”
He was visibly overwhelmed by the gesture of fans who sang along with him on stage at Enterprise Center, which showcased that the song had solidified him a place in hiphop history.
“You created a bonafide STL dance anthem in the early 2000s that continues to light up floors to this day,” said DJ James Biko. “I hate that your life was cut violently too short.”
He is survived by a 13-yearold daughter.
“Rest In Paradise to baby Huey,” Chingy said. “He will be missed, but he will always be here living through me though.”
As of press time, final arrangements are pending.
“We’re also looking into what does a nonprofit version of Painted Black look like, and how can that be something useful that doesn’t already exist.”
Leaving a lasting impression of this moment of activism is part of why Bojorquez loves this project. She said she already sees this work as a part of history.
“These murals will be around for years, you know, these photos will be around for years,” Bojorquez said. “The artist is definitely like one of the most important people within the movement.”
Published with permission from St. Louis Public Radio: https://www.cnn. com/2020/06/29/us/st-louis-mayor-police-reform
It
takes all of us
We all have a history. A story. We bring with us life experiences that shape who we are and make us better.
At Spire, we know our individual stories only make us stronger as a whole. That’s why we’re committed to an inclusive work environment where all that makes us unique is embraced, encouraged and valued.
Because it truly takes all of us—our backgrounds, our perspectives and our experiences—to move forward.
Congressman John Lewis
Summer escape films from the comfort of your couch
We can’t gather on Art Hill to watch movies on the big screen, but we can come together just the same. Join the Saint Louis Art Museum to enjoy a virtual celebration of films, food, and fun on Friday nights in July for the At Home Film Series: Summer Escapes! This summer, the Museum will feature four popular films that transport viewers around the world and even across dimensions–all from the comfort of your couch. Each Friday, the Museum invites you to tune in for an online pre-movie watch party, which will include a variety of cocktail demonstrations, art connections, trivia and more. Then, viewers are encouraged to start watching that week’s film around 9 pm. The films will all be available to stream online for low or no cost and are subject to change.
On July 10 the featured film will be Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018). Watch as teenager Miles Morales becomes Spider-Man and then quickly finds out that he must join with five counterparts, each one a distinct version of the famous superhero, from other dimensions to stop a threat for all realities. This exciting story is told through striking animation and is an enjoyable adventure with heart, humor, and plenty of superhero action. The following week, on July 17, travel to Singapore for the romantic comedy Crazy Rich Asians (2018). Based on a global bestseller, the movie follows native New Yorker Rachel Chu to Asia to meet her boyfriend Nick Young’s family. Excited and nervous, Rachel is unprepared to learn that Nick has neglected to mention a few key facts, including his family’s incredible wealth and that he is one of the country’s most sought-after bachelors.
On July 24, prepare to meet a few interstellar visitors in the science fiction comedy, Men in Black (1997). Nicknamed the “men in black” for their nondescript uniform, two agents are assigned to recover an important item that’s been stolen by an intergalactic terrorist and they encounter several fascinating creatures along the way. Starring Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, this otherworldly blockbuster brings the galaxy close to home.
Image credit: ©Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
Saint Louis Art Museum At Home Film Series: Summer Escapes Fridays, Online via slam.org, Free Watch Party starts at 8:30 pm; Showtime at 9 pm
July 10: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
July17: Crazy Rich Asians (2018)
July 24: Men in Black (1997)
July 31: The Princess Bride (1987)
For the last night in the series, July 31, join the fairytale world of The Princess Bride (1987). This enchanting tale of one man’s quest to be reunited with his true love is a mix of swashbuckling, romance, and comedy that takes an age-old damsel-in-distress story and makes it new and memorable.
Make your summer escape (while staying home!) with this adventurous lineup from the Saint Louis Art Museum’s At Home Film Series. For more details about the watch parties and instructions on streaming the movies, please visit slam. org/filmseries.
Chingy
Continued from B1
org to stream the virtual program. In addition to the concerts, Fair Saint Louis @Home also features surprise celebrity appearances, entertainment by Fair Saint Louis’ favorite variety acts, a salute to our service members and essential workers, and the opportunity to win big prizes.
Chingy will be taking the Fair Saint Louis @Home virtual stage on the heels of releasing the singles “Invincible” and “All Capp” last Friday – and still riding high on the success of his country hip-hop fusion hit with Meg & Tyler entitled “Woah Down” that dropped in May.
“If you know me you know I’ve always been into making music you can dance to, party to, have a good time to,” Chingy said. “That’s my duty here on earth. My music is how I provide, help and heal people. To me it’s about togetherness. To bring people together to have a great moment.”
The virtual show is a great lead up to his latest studio album, “Crown Jewel,” which will be released on July 31. He says that fans can expect the same electric energy he brings to live shows to be present for the virtual one – and to hear the songs that made him an international hip-hop star nearly twenty years ago with his debut album ‘Jackpot.’
He said to expect timeless, classic music.
“Even though they are watching it, they will be able to feel like they were there with me,” Chingy said. “I might not be physically there with them in the moment, but I am there
with them through this technology.
“I’m going to let them know I stand by them and I’m going to keep delivering this great music for people to have good vibrations and frequencies to.
Ching-a-ling is with them, even if I’m not next to them.”
CAUSES HAVE ADVOCATES.
FIGHT AGAINST HIV ONLY A CHAMPION WILL DO.
Vivent Health,
on the
Learn more at ViventHealth.org
Chingy
Photo by Lawrence Bryant
St. John’s celebrates Juneteenth with new and past senior pastor
Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson introduces Rev. Michelle Higgins to community
By Ramona Curtis Of The St. Louis American
Florissant sisters Chloe and Tionee Ellis came to North St. Louis to celebrate Juneteenth, Black America’s observance of the end of slavery, for two reasons. Chloe, 16, wanted to learn about history. Her older sister Tionee, 19, wanted to support the movement for racial justice.
Both sisters got what they wanted at the June 19 People’s Rally held at St. John’s Church United Church of Christ on North Grand. About 100 people gathered for the two-hour rally to hear organizers and activists lay the groundwork for action that will honor history by forging a path for future generations.
Organizers and activists said that the 155-year-old Juneteenth tradition holds special meaning this year against the backdrop of a growing health crisis and the movement for racial justice following the recent killing of George Floyd.
“Millions have taken to the streets with a clear and district call to end police violence and to defund police,” said community organizer Montague Simmons. “Combined with COVID-19 and four years of Trumpism, Black communities are demanding justice, account-
ability, a divestment of policing and investment in healthy sustainable communities.”
The mask-wearing crowd roared in agreement as they waved Black Lives Matters and colorful Juneteenth signs provided by Faith for Justice. The multi-racial gathering included white and Black people, families with children and older folk, and people wearing Kente cloth headwraps, spiked blue hair and rainbow T-shirts.
Kayla Reed of Action St. Louis presented a list of 10 demands for the City of St. Louis. Compiled by a coalition of organizations – including Action St. Louis, Metropolitan Congregation United, Missouri Faith Voices, Close the Workhouse and Campaign for Youth Justice – the demands include: reparations (payment for slavery); close the Workhouse (the city jail); expand Medicare; decriminalize sex work and HIV status; and protect trans rights. The first demand called to Defund the Police.
“For too long, St. Louis city has chosen to invest millions of dollars into the police department that does not lower crime, does not keep us safe, that perpetuates more harm than trauma, that prevents the services needed in communities from
Rev.
more resources,” Reed said. “It is illogical to continue to invest in a broken system.”
Kristian Blackmon, of Campaign for Youth Justice, said defunding the police also means removing school resource officers from the public-school system. She said having police officers in schools send the wrong message to students.
“Let’s talk about how from the womb in this society, this country, anti-blackness shows up telling our babies they don’t matter, telling our babies that
tem called pre-trial detention that only locks you up because you cannot afford the bail, not because you have been proven guilty as charged. A half million people in jail, disproportionately Black people, because they cannot afford it (bail).”
Inez Bordeaux, a representative of Close the Workhouse, a campaign to shut down the expensive and under-utilized city jail, urged everyone to contact their Alders to demand the last 95 people still there are freed. The group said that 14 of the 28 city alderpersons have pledged to support the closure.
“Our demands are simple: we want our people,” she said. “And we’re not going away until we get them.”
DeMarco Davidson, of Metropolitan Congregations United, reminded the group of upcoming local and national elections, and the power of the vote.
they’re criminals, telling our babies that they won’t succeed and thrive in this life. But I stand up here damning all of that. I stand up here to say that is not what God has for our youth, for our babies,” she said. “We want police of any type out of our schools.”
During an event to commemorate freedom given 155 years ago, Mike Milton of the Bail Project said Black people’s freedom is still at risk today.
“Our goal is to literally free people from cages, every single day,” he said. “There’s a sys-
“We welcome elected officials who represent, listen and act on behalf of the community who elected them,” he said. “All others, we will see you on Tuesday August 4 and November 3.”
Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, who recently stepped down as senior pastor at St. John’s Church United Church of Christ, also urged attendees to vote. He presented a proclamation signed by hundreds of Black clergy to commemorate Juneteenth by strongly denouncing President Donald Trump’s intention to hold a political rally in Tulsa during the Juneteenth weekend. Tulsa is the site of one of the coun-
try’s most violent race riots that destroyed the city’s Black Wall Street.
“The Black church will not stand silent in the face of the social, moral and political failure of the 45th administration of this nation,” the proclamation read. “The chief executive of the United States is a racist and a sexist terrorist whose ignorance, gaslighting, dog whistles and outright lies have fueled the flames of anti-black sentiment that is carved into the very foundation of (America).”
Several of the speakers talked about addressing different forms of anti-black sentiment.
“We’re banging for all Black lives,” Blackmon said. “We’re banging for our babies, Black men, Black women, Black children, Black trans, Black queer, Black non-binary, Black gender non-conforming. Whoever. If you are Black, I am banging for you always. I don’t separate it. If you’re not out here doing the liberation work for all Black people, then you’re really not doing the liberation work.” St. John’s newly-installed senior pastor Rev. Michelle Higgins asked Black people to come together in the center of the group and to remind themselves of their beauty. She led a song about Black empowerment and the need for inclusion and self-reflection.
“I challenge you today: if you have a brain, you have a bias,” she said. “I challenge you today to interact, encounter, engage and confront that bias until it is laid waste like the white supremacy you claim to fight against. Shut it down!”
Photo by Wiley Price
Dr. Starsky Wilson, who recently stepped down as senior pastor at St. John’s Church United Church of Christ, presented a proclamation signed by hundreds of Black clergy denouncing President Donald Trump’s intention to hold a political rally in Tulsa during the Juneteenth weekend.
. LouiS american Career Center
PROGRAM MANAGER
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwestern Illinois is seeking a full time Program Manager and is offering a flexible work environment, PTO and health benefits. We are looking for a candidate with a BA in social work, psychology or relevant degree; 5-7 years of successful nonprofit management experience and; prior work serving youth. Interested candidates should send a cover letter and resume to admin@bbbsil.org. A full job description and details can be found at www.bbbsil.org.
No phone calls please.
ADMIN ASSISTANT
Manchester, MO
8am-3:30pm M-F (35hrs.)
$13.55/hr. Full Benefits
H.S. Diploma or Equiv + 2yrs
Professional admin exp. Must be highly proficient in M.S. Excel, Word & Outlook. Exp with Multi-Line phones, fax & copiers Preferred. Local travel
Required for occasional Office errands. Must have Valid D.L & State min req Auto insurance. Pre Emp B/C & Drug Test. Send Resumes to Laura Reich at Lreich@agingahead.org call 636-207-4231
EXECUTIVE COORDINATOR
Manchester, MO
8am-4:30 M-F (40hrs)
$20.03/hr. Exempt. Full Benefits. Bachelor’s in Business or related field + 3yrs exp. or H.S. Diploma or Equiv + 7yrs Exp. Exp with Board of Directors preferred. Supports CEO. Coord Board Meetings & manage all official minutes. Supervises Receptionist. Must be highly proficient in M.S. Excel, Word & Outlook. Pre Emp B/C & Drug Test. Send Resumes to Laura Reich at Lreich@agingahead.org call 636-207-4231
DIRECTOR OF EQUITY AND INCLUSION
Incarnate Word Academy is a collegepreparatory high school that strives to challenge young women of faith to achieve their God-given potential academically, physically, spiritually and emotionally, thereby empowering themselves and others to make a positive impact on our world. The school is a sponsored ministry of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word. Incarnate Word Academy is seeking applicants for the following position for the 2020-21 school year:
Director of Equity and Inclusion
A full time Director of Equity and Inclusion will oversee a Black student mentoring program, moderate the student Diversity Club, develop objectives for the strategic plan, assist with student and faculty/staff recruitment, and implement and monitor future DEI strategies.
Qualifications:
• Previous relationship management experience.
• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution of higher education is required; a master’s degree is preferred.
Qualified candidates should send resumes to Dr. Randy Mikolas, president, at rmikolas@iwacademy.org. Digital submissions only.
Applications accepted until July 25, 2020.
BIDS & NOTICES
NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS
NOTICE TO CONSULTANTS
The St. Louis County Department of Transportation is requesting the services of a highly-qualified consulting engineering firm to perform professional engineering services for the Buckley Road Bridges No. 528 and 528-P project (St. Louis County project number CR-1772). Full details for this project, including submittal requirements and deadline, will be available on June 29, 2020 from the St. Louis County Web Site (www.stlouisco.com)
METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS
SEWER DISTRICT
Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is accepting proposals in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00 a.m. on July 30th, 2020 to contract with a company for: IBM Maximo Subscription & Support Services. Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.msdprojectclear.org, click on the “DOING BUSINESS WITH US” link, (View Non-Capital Bids (Goods & Services). The bid document will be identified as 10422 RFQ. If you do not have access to the internet, call 314.768.2735 to request a copy of this bid. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.
The St. Louis County Circuit Clerk’s Office has several vacant Apprentice Court Clerk/Court Clerk positions in each of our departments. These positions are full-time positions working in a court within the Missouri State Court System, using an electronic filing system. We are looking for candidates who are interested in entry-level positions working in a court setting and who possess excellent office and customer service skills.
SALARY: $2,224.00 - $2,383.00 per month depending on qualifications +State of Missouri benefits.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:
Applicant must have an Associate’s Degree in a related field or at least 60 semester hours from an institution of higher learning and one year of varied administrative experience performing a wide range of technical office duties. (Equivalent combination of relevant education and experience may be substituted on a year for year basis provided a high school diploma or GED has been obtained). An assessment of data entry skills will be given.
TO APPLY: Visit the following website and complete an online application, https://wp.stlcountycourts.com/
and
Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Requests for Quotes, Bids and Proposals are posted online for public download. Please
MWBE PreBid Meeting Notice
The SITE Improvement Association is hosting a Prebid meeting for Qualified and Certified MWBE contractors to discuss working on MSD’s Reynosa-Melitta Streambank
This meeting is being held on behalf of the following SITE contractor member: Two Alpha Contracting 110 Sierra Ridge Dr., Wright City, MO 63390 636/384-1296
The meeting will take place at 10:00 a.m. July 9, 2020 SITE Improvement Association Office, 2071 Exchange Drive St. Charles, MO 63303
Project plans are available from MSD. For questions regarding this prebid meeting, Contact the SITE Improvement Association office at 314/966-2950.
PUBLIC NOTICE
July 13, 2020, 1:30 p.m. – Virtual Public Hearing
Instructions for attending the Virtual Public Hearing are available on the website: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/cda/.
In accordance with 24 CFR 91.105(c)(2) of the federal regulations relative to citizen participation for Community Planning and Development Programs and applicable waivers made available to those requirements through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the City of St. Louis is making a Substantial Amendment to the Program Year 2019 Annual Action Plan available to the public through this notice.
This Substantial Amendment will enable the City of St. Louis to receive and administer a special allocation from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development to be used to prevent, prepare for and respond to COVID-19. This allocation was authorized by the CARES Act, Public Law 116-136 and includes $10,840,586 under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG-CV), $5,432,145 under the Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG-CV) and $337,889 under the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS Program (HOPWA-CV). ESG program funds are administered by the Department of Human Services and the HOPWA program funds are administered by the Department of Health of the City of St. Louis.
Activities funded by CDBG-CV, ESG-CV and HOPWA-CV programs must meet all applicable federal requirements.
Additional funding made available to the City of St. Louis by HUD through the CARES Act is unknown at this time, but if made available would be used for substantially the same purposes as the initial allocations indicated above, specifically, to prevent the spread of Coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) and facilitate assistance to eligible communities, households and persons economically impacted by COVID-19.
This Substantial Amendment is available for a public review and comment period, from July 3, 2020 through and including July 10, 2020. As a part of the Substantial Amendment process, the City of St. Louis has also amended the CDA Citizen Participation Plan (primarily to include the minimum 5-day comment period HUD has authorized). Along with the Substantial Amendment, the amended Citizen Participation Plan is available for review on the City of St. Louis website: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/cda/.
Citizens wishing to submit written comments during the public review and comment period for either the Substantial Amendment or the amended Citizen Participation Plan may e-mail them to moakm@stlouis-mo.gov no later than July 10, 2020, 5 p.m., or may mail them, postmarked no later than 5 p.m., July 8, 2020, to the following address:
City of St. Louis – Community Development Administration
Attn: Matt Moak, Executive Director 1520 Market Street, Suite 2000 St. Louis, MO 63103
If you require special accommodations, please contact the City of St. Louis Community Development Administration at (314) 657-3700.
Virtual Public Hearing information and instruction:
When: July 13, 2020 - 01:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada).
Topic: Amendment of Citizen Participation Plan and draft Substantial Amendment for HUD COVID-19 emergency funding.
Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84614622137
Or iPhone one-tap: US: +13126266799,,84614622137# or +16465588656,,84614622137#
Or Telephone: Dial (for
SEALED BIDS
Bids for Replace F i r e A l a r m , Infrastructure at St. Louis Psychiatric Rehabilitation Center, Project No. M2012-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 6/25/20 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities
PROPOSAL REQUEST
Sealed Proposals for B20-1191 Greenhouses will be received at Lincoln University Purchasing Dept 1002 Chestnut St, RM 101 Shipping & Receiving Bldg, JCMO 65101 until 2PM CT on 20July2020. Download Proposal Request at http:// www.lincolnu.edu/web/ purchasing/bids
PUBLISHER’S NOTICE:
Advertised herein is subject to the Federal Fair Housing Act, which makes it illegal to advertise any preference, imitation, or discrimination because of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial\status, or national origin, or intention to make any such preference, limitation, or discrimination.“We will not knowingly accept any advertising for real estate which is in violation of the law. All persons are hereby informed that all dwellings advertised are available on an equal opportunity basis.”
Call Angelita Houston at 314-289-5430 or email
The rebellion continues
Protests in the region remain steady a month after demonstrators originally took to the streets after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, though actions have since become localized. There is an ongoing quest for justice in response to assault charges against former Florissant police detective Joshua Smith. A clash of faiths took place on Art Hill as opposing sides met to defend or decry King Louis IX’s statue in Forest Park. And a demand for the resignation of Mayor Lyda Krewson after she doxed activists and residents who suggested defunding police gained international attention after homeowners, St. Louis attorneys Mark and Patricia McCloskey, pointed guns at protestors.
Photos by Lawrence Bryant
Sports
JULY 2 – 8, 2020
sports eye
Black press’ winning strategy led to integration of Major League Baseball
Terry Pendleton, a star third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals and Atlanta Braves and 1991 National League MVP, is joining some other MVP winners who say it’s time to strip Kenesaw M. Landis’ name from the American and National League MVP awards. Landis, who was instrumental in keeping Major League Baseball segregated during his 25 years as commissioner, still holds the honor of having his name on both MVP plaques.
“I’ve always thought about that: Why is that still on there?” Pendleton told the Associated Press. “No doubt, MVP stands on its own. It doesn’t need a name.”
Barry Larkin, former Cincinnati Reds shortstop, Hall of Fame member and 1995 NL MVP said, “His name should not be represented on a plaque or award of honor, especially at this day and time.”
during baseball’s winter meetings. It was a shock to many whites in baseball that he even granted this delegation of distinguished black men an audience.
Their mission was to question Landis as to why black baseball players, many of them stars in the Negro Leagues, were not allowed to play on National or American League teams.
Landis, a retired federal judge hired to clean up baseball after the Black Sox scandal in 1920, scuttled all attempts to integrate baseball during his 24-year tenure as the game’s first commissioner.
Mike Schmidt, the former Philadelphia Phillies slugger who won the NL MVP Award three times, had a stronger statement than Larkin or Pendleton.
“If you’re looking to expose individuals in baseball’s history who promoted racism by continuing to close baseball’s doors to men of color, Kenesaw Landis would be a candidate,” Schmidt, a Hall of Fame member, said.
Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker said Landis was part of baseball’s “dark history.” MLB’s official historian, John Thorn, found no way to come to Landis’ defense.
“Landis is who he is. He was who he was,” he told the AP. “I absolutely support the movement to remove Confederate monuments, and Landis was pretty damn near Confederate.”
Black publishers challenge Landis
In December 1943, during the height of World War II, a group of black newspaper publishers from the National Newspaper Publishers Association traveled to New York to meet with Landis
While there was never a written rule that blacks could not play, owners had a pact that it would not happen.
Landis not only supported them, he led them. Landis put an end to exhibition games between white Major League players and Negro League teams. Before that, he ruled that Major League players could not wear their team uniforms in these contests.
According to a Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) article by Doran Goldman, Landis ended a four-game series between the Kansas City Monarchs and white Major Leaguers after the Monarchs won the first three games. It was reported that Landis’ only concern was that the games were drawing more fans than Major League games. Goldman detailed the meeting with Black publishers, what led to it and its aftermath.
“The prime participants in the battle to integrate baseball were the members of the black press, especially Sam Lacy and Wendell Smith. During his lengthy career (extending into the twenty-first century), Lacy wrote for several important black newspapers and was sports editor of the Baltimore Afro-American
“Smith plied his trade during this time frame for the Pittsburgh Courier. The Courier was the leading black newspaper of the time, reaching a high of 350,000 in circulation in 1945 –in part because of the bold
“Today I’m tipping my hat to everybody in the Negro Leagues who left a century-long legacy of talent, and spirit, and dignity, on our country,” Obama said in his video clip.
stands it took on the issues of the day.
The Courier, with Smith as its sports editor, stepped up its campaign to integrate baseball in 1942.
“In the summer of 1942, the black press reported that Bill Benswanger, owner of the Pirates, would be trying out Negro League stars Leon Day, Willie Wells, Josh Gibson, and Sam Bankhead. It never came to pass. At the end of 1943, the Negro Newspaper Publishers Association, politicians and respected actor Paul Robeson met with the American and National Leagues.
“Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis, an ardent segregationist, went on record as not being against the move to place Negro players in the major leagues. Everyone knew otherwise. Yet Courier president Ira Lewis spoke at this meeting, and invoked the concept of national unity in suggesting that baseball integration would bring joy to 15 million black Americans and millions of white Americans as well.”
John Sengstacke, publisher of the Chicago Defender, also
Ispoke at the meeting and asked Landis how black men could be fighting and dying in World War II and not allowed to play Major League Baseball. Three seasons would pass before Jackie Robinson was allowed to play for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Landis had died in 1944.
Double V Campaign
I searched in vain to find a list of publishers who met with Landis in the Roosevelt Hotel that day in New York. I do not know if Nathaniel Sweets, the late owner and publisher of the St. Louis American, was in attendance. My guess is he was or offered much input – and it’s an educated guess.
Black publishers had championed the Double V Campaign during World War II. It was based on a letter published in the Courier on Jan. 31, 1942 by James G. Thompson, a 26-yearold cafeteria worker.
“Is the kind of America I know worth defending? The first V for victory over our enemies without, the second V for victory over our enemies
nsIde sports
within? For surely those who perpetrate those ugly prejudices here are seeking to destroy our democratic form of government just as surely as the Axis forces.”
In the June 13, 1942, issue the Courier carried an article reporting that thousands of fans in St. Louis were in the stands of Stars Field as the New York Black Yankees defeated the Birmingham Black Barons, 8-4 in a Double V game. They also saw a drum and bugle corps form a Double V on the mound, and a $50 Double V certificate being presented to the winner of a Miss Mid-West contest. (Note: $50 today was worth more than $780.00 in 1942.)
A nice tip
James “Cool Papa” Bell, a Hall of Famer and Negro League superstar with the St. Louis Stars, was among the Negro League players honored with a video “tip of the cap” by former presidents and celebrities this week in honor of the 100th Anniversary of the Negro Leagues.
President Barack Obama tipped a Chicago White Sox cap and saluted several players.
“Today I’m tipping my hat to everybody in the Negro Leagues who left a century-long legacy of talent, and spirit, and dignity, on our country,” Obama said in his video clip.
“So here”’s to Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, and everybody else, including three brave women, who did us all proud. There were some great team names too, like the Chicago American Giants. Couldn’t think of a more fitting label for everyone who suited up. Congratulations everybody.”
Former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W.Bush also tipped caps in respective videos.
Rachel Robinson, Jackie Robinson’s widow, along with Henry Aaron, Michael Strahan, Michael Jordan, Billie Jean King, Bob Costas and Stephen Colbert also honored the centennial of the Negro League.
Astronaut Chris Cassidy, who is traveling miles above Earth in the International Space Station, also tipped his space
suit helmet.
MLB and the Negro League Baseball Museum had planned events celebrating the centennial throughout the 2020 season. Most had to be cancelled because of the pandemic.
A Rocky rocks MLB
Ian Desmond grew up as a bi-racial kid in Sarasota, Florida, that starred in baseball and other youth sports. He grew into a Major League Baseball star who now patrols the outfield for the Colorado Rockies – and on Monday he joined a growing list of professional athletes to opt out of playing for their respective teams in 2020 because of the coronavirus.
He cited his responsibility as a father and husband, and noting that his wife is carrying their fifth child on Instagram. In a nation that is quick to criticize the number of fatherless homes in minority communities, Desmond’s impassioned support of his family is outstanding.
“With a pregnant wife and four young children who have lots of questions about what’s going on in the world, home is where I need to be right now,” Desmond wrote on Instagram.
“Home for my wife, Chelsey. Home to help. Home to guide. Home to answer my older three boys’ questions about Coronavirus and Civil Rights and life. Home to be their Dad.”
He didn’t stop there. Saying the George Floyd murder at the knee of a Minneapolis police officer profoundly shook up his life, Desmond called out fellow players and MLB for their respective roles in ignoring the plight of minority people in America.
“We’ve got rampant individualism on the field. In clubhouses we’ve got racist, sexist, homophobic jokes or flat-out problems. We’ve got cheating. We’ve got minority issues from the top down. One African American GM. Two African American managers. Less than 8% Black players. No Black majority team owners.” These are words and actions that MLB should heed or its future will be in more peril than it already is.
Mizzou football recruits receive high marks
First-year head coach Eli Drinkwitz has only been on the job for several months at the University of Missouri, but he has already made a big impact on the recruiting trail for top high school football talent. Some recruiting outlets have Mizzou’s 2021 recruiting class ranked among the Top 20 in the nation at this stage of the process. More importantly, Drinkwitz has managed to make a big dent in the St. Louis metro area by getting commitments from several area prospects.
Standout quarterback Tyler Macon of East St. Louis committed last spring after a record-breaking season in which he led the Flyers to the Illinois Class 6 state championship. Macon is currently in Nashville, Tennessee to compete in the Elite 11 Finals,
which features many of the top high school quarterbacks in the nation.
Defensive lineman Mekhi Wingo and running back Taj Butts from Missouri Class 6 state champion DeSmet have also made verbal pledges to Missouri. The 6’0” 280pound Wingo was the St. Louis American Large Schools Defensive Player of the Year. The 5’11” 205-pound Butts was a 1,000-yard rusher for the Spartans.
Tight end Ryan Hoerstkamp of Washington High was the fourth area player to commit to the Tigers. He was followed by top defensive end Travion Ford of Lutheran North, who was a mainstay on the Crusaders’ Class 2 state championship team. Last week, Mizzou also got a commitment from defensive back Tyler Hibbler from
Trinity Catholic.
RIP Justin Love
Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of former Saint Louis Billiken basketball standout Justin Love, who passed away suddenly last week at the young age of 41.Love was entering his fourth season as the head coach at Mascoutah High, where he was establishing himself as a well-respected young coach.
In 2000, it was Love who orchestrated one of the most memorable moments in SLU basketball history when he led the Billikens on a miracle four-day run to the Conference-USA Tournament
championship and a berth in the NCAA Tournament in Memphis. Dubbed the “Miracle in Memphis,” the Billikens entered the weekend as the No. 9 seed, but won four games in four days to win the championship. Love was the Most Valuable Player of the Tournament after a tremendous four-day run. That championship weekend was the highlight of my 29-year career as the radio color analyst for the Billikens.
After a 12-year professional career overseas, Love returned to the metro east area, where he began his coaching career. He was an assistant coach at Belleville West High before taking over the head coaching
reins at Mascoutah in 2017. He led the Indians to a Class 3A regional championship in 2018. He was a wonderful young man and a well-loved member of the Mascoutah and Saint Louis U. community.
Area Commitments
East St. Louis Senior High track star Willie Johnson has given a commitment to Southern Illinois University.
As a junior, Johnson led the Flyers to the Illinois Class AA state championship in 2019. He was the state champion in the 400-meter dash and the anchor leg on the Flyers’ state-champion 4x400-meter relay team.
A pair of Class of 2021 football standouts also gave verbal commitments in the past week. Defensive back Demetrius Cannon of Trinity
committed to the University of Louisville, while defensive back Denver Parker of Class 6 state champion DeSmet gave a commitment to Austin Peay State University.
Brandon Miller, Courtney Williams earn Gatorade Award
Congratulations to Brandon Miller of John Burroughs and Courtney Williams of Nerinx Hall of being selected as the 2020 Gatorade Missouri Athletes of the Year in boys and girls track and field. Miller is the state record holder in the 800-meter run, while Williams was a state champion in the 400-meter dash. Miller is headed to Texas A&M and Williams has signed with Clemson on track scholarships.
With Earl Austin Jr.
Earl Austin Jr.
With Alvin A. Reid
Alvin A. Reid