March 13th, 2014 Edition

Kwame Foundation presents Brianna Elise at the Sheldon

n “We need everyone’s help to fulfill the mission of this organization.”

– Michael P. McMillan, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis

McMillan leads his first UL Annual Dinner

Promises ‘community involvement and investment in positive change’

By Bridjes O’Neil

Of The St. Louis American

Michael P. McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, presided over the organization’s 96th Annual Dinner Meeting on Monday – his

Community kicks off Hudson campaign

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

St. Louis Community College has been drastically losing student enrollment for several years – and longtime community leader and social justice advocate Redditt Hudson believes he can help restore this vital resource.

“It’s my intent to ensure that students receive a quality education and ensure that they become part of the workforce,”

See HUDSON, A7

first since taking office in August of 2013, succeeding James H. Buford, who led the organization for 28 years.

As the Urban League’s flagship affiliate celebrates its 96th anniversary, McMillan is plotting a path toward its centennial.

“Longevity has afforded us the opportunity

to establish an unparallel legacy of community involvement and investment in positive change in the region,” he said. He reminded the soldout crowd gathered at the Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel in downtown St. Louis that challenging

n Over the last seven months, McMillan said, the Urban League has increased its membership from 37 to 537.

SALute to HeALtH cAre

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

Jackson

A pediatric nurse since the 1970s, Sherrill Jackson always thought she was well informed about breast cancer. But she never thought she would be diagnosed with the disease herself in 1992, when she was 46. “It was the furthest thing from my mind,” said Jackson, RN, MHSA, CPNP, who is a pediatric nurse and manager of the School Based Program at Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers. “I had no family history. Although I work in the medical field, I was just as afraid and nervous as anyone else.” She survived breast cancer with the strong support of her family and friends, she said. And 16 years ago, she founded an organization called The Breakfast Club, Inc. to provide other women with a support system as well as educate them about the disease. Since its inception, The Breakfast Club has provided educational information about breast health to more than 12,000 people and support services to more than 500 breast cancer survivors. The nonprofit has distributed more than 1,500

See JACKSON, A6

Sweetie Pie’s at the public library

Miss Robbie Montgomery kicks off ‘Food for Thought’

Miss Robbie Montgomery, star of “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s,” with Jonice Langford and Asia Edwards, both students at Clyde C. Miller Career Academy.

By Bridjes O’Neil Of The

Miss Robbie Montgomery, star of the Oprah Winfrey Network hit “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s,” kicked off St. Louis Public Library’s Food for Thought: A Month of Culinary Events. Montgomery first met with culinary students from Clyde C. Miller Career Academy and Beaumont High School on Thursday, March 6 at Central Library, 1301 Olive St. Montgomery said she was delighted to see so many students in chef’s jackets and asked how many aspired to open their own restaurants. Most of the

See SWEETIE, A7

n “I made this at the restaurant, and we enjoyed it.”

– Miss Robbie Montgomery told Jonice Langford, of Clyde C. Miller, about her family recipe

The Revs. Jacqueline and Lou Brock, Carol and Thomas R. Voss (outgoing president of Ameren), Urban League President Michael McMillan, ESL Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. and aldermanic President Lewis Reed joined Ambassador Andrew Young as he sliced his birthday cake after the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ 96th Annual Dinner Meeting on Monday.

Photo by Wiley Price

Photo by Wiley Price

St. Louis American

Sherrill

Did Karrueche dump Breezy after

Rihanna’s visited him in rehab?

Sources told The New York Daily News that in late January Rihanna flew on a private plane to visit Chris Brown at the Malibu rehab center, where he is serving a court-ordered stint in an anger management and drug recovery program.

When she recently learned of the visit, Brown’s on-again-off-again girlfriend Karrueche Tran reportedly dumped him for good.

“With Chris in rehab, [he] and Karrueche spoke every day and she stood by his side.” The source said.

“She trusts Chris, but when it comes to Rihanna, she has a zero-tolerance policy. Then she found out about the trip.”

Tran recently tweeted: “Not dating anyone stop w the bs.”

Is TGT DOA?

Tank, Ginuwine and Tyrese joined

forces last year as a newly formed super group. But TGT hasn’t gone as planned, and insiders say that whole notion of them as a trio is over and done with.

Fans first began noticing something was wrong when Tank and Ginuwine began touring without Tyrese back in December.

The source also says when she learned Rihanna had visited Chris, he at first denied it.

“She believed him, but he finally admitted that Rihanna had come to see him. She put her foot down and cut him off completely,” says our source.

it was announced that DNA testing would prove once and for all that he is the son of Michael Jackson

In a video posted on Facebook B insisted, “I have never self-proclaimed to be Michael Jackson’s son.”

But the video he also insinuates there may be truth to the speculations.

“I’m definitely not suing the estate – I’ve been taken care of very well,” Howard said. “And also, I make my own cash.”

He goes on to say, “whatever the DNA test results come out to be – it’s what it is.”

Then last month the group canceled on Arsenio Hall at the very last minute causing a very awkward live segment because it was a specially arranged female only audience just for TGT.

Witnesses claim off camera Hall was furious and admitted to the studio audience that TGT weren’t getting along.

Now Tank is on the road performing alone, recently opening for Jamie Foxx.

Howard family fuels

Michael Jackson lovechild rumors

Earlier this week R&B singer B. Howard found himself at the center of a firestorm after

B. Howard’s mother, singer Miki Howard, also responds to the rumors, but stopped short of denying them.

Addressing fans on Twitter Miki Howard declared SHE was B. Howard’s father.

Later Miki stirs up more questions than answers with a cryptic statement to You Know I Got Soul.

“I love and support my son and the Jackson family. The Jacksons –who are dear, long-time friends of mine – are beautiful people and have always been loving and supportive of me and my career. As to this claim – at this time I am not at

liberty to discuss this as it is common practice in our business that celebrities have nondisclosure agreements. And, we are NOT suing anyone. By the way…I am NOT ‘Billie Jean.”

Stevie J.’s $1M child support bill may land him in the slammer

Last month “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta’s” Stevie J was served with a subpoena to appear in court to face charges of falling behind more than $1 million in child support . According to The Source ,Stevie

Royal Vagabonds celebrate leadership

Danforth and Steward receive Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award

By Bridjes O’Neil

Of The St. Louis American

The Royal Vagabonds, Inc. and the Royal Vagabonds Foundation, Inc. hosted the third annual Celebration of Leadership Luncheon recently at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel.

More than 600 people attended the event, with proceeds benefitting scholarships for deserving college-bound seniors throughout the metro area. The foundation has awarded nearly $50,000 in scholarships to local high school students.

Foundation board President Joseph DuBose Jr. said he believes it’s better to build children than repair adults.

“We’re trying to put some money on the front end,” DuBose said, “so we don’t have to put it in on the back end.”

In celebration of Black History Month and the 250th anniversary of the founding of the City of St. Louis, local pioneers in leadership and extraordinary AfricanAmerican trailblazers were honored for their contributions to the city.

William H. Danforth, M.D., and David Steward were the first recipients of the inaugural Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award. Danforth is chancellor emeritus of Washington University and Steward is founder and chairman of World Wide Technology, Inc., the largest blackowned business in the country.

The award is named for the late civil rights leader and physician R. Jerome Williams Sr., M.D. Williams was a member of the Royal Vagabonds and served on the foundation board and Leadership Luncheon Committee. The award will be presented annually to two distinguished leaders (one African American and one non-African American) who have made an impact in the St. Louis community.

“Everywhere Dr. Williams went, he was raising money for some cause,” Ida Goodwin Woolfolk said of Williams, who died last March. “He would stand on the top of your shoes until you said, ‘Yes.’ It was like buying insurance so that the

By Zaki Baruti For The St. Louis American

It is the hope of the Universal African Peoples Organization that the St. Louis Board of Aldermen and Mayor Francis G. Slay build upon the recent return of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department to community control by enacting a forthcoming proposal to establish an Office of Civilian Oversight for the police department.

Although complaints could still be filed with Internal Affairs, the Office of Civilian Oversight would have additional powers to recommend policy changes based on patterns of complaints.

insurance man doesn’t call you anymore.”

Woolfolk served as mistress of ceremony. Her quick-witted sense of humor kept the crowd entertained during the nearly four-hour-long program.

Dr. Danforth said he first became involved in the Civil Rights Movement long after Williams organized doctors and other professionals in protesting the discriminatory practices at Jefferson Bank and Trust Co. in 1963.

“I didn’t even know where the Jefferson Bank was,” Dr. Danforth said.

Pioneering civil rights attorney Frankie Muse Freeman and former Congressman William L. “Bill” Clay Sr. were the recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award. Even with his own illustrious political career as the state’s first African American elected to Congress, Clay could not resist singing Freeman’s praises.

“The award is even more significant because I’m being placed in a cherished circle with a superstar in the Civil Rights Movement,” Clay said of Freeman.

Extraordinary African-American trailblazers were honored for their leadership, innovation and initiatives in furthering a diverse, impartial and inclusive environment in the St. Louis community. Seventy individuals, organizations and

churches were recognized in several categories, including Donald M. Suggs, president of the St. Louis American Foundation and publisher and executive editor of The St. Louis American newspaper.

President and CEO of Ameren Illinois Richard Mark, who received a trailblazer award for excellence in business, spoke on behalf of all the honorees. Mark stated that leadership takes various forms, glancing around the room at the honorees.

“But the one thing that extraordinary leaders all have common,” Mark said, “leaders make things better than they were.”

The Royal Vagabonds, Inc. has a current membership of over 130. Founded in 1930, the Royal Vagabonds, Inc. was organized by a small group of black professionals and businessmen because of limited social and intellectual opportunities for “men of color.” The group provides services, resources, and monetary contributions to individuals and organizations that help improve the lives of those in need.

For more information regarding scholarship opportunities, contact the Royal Vagabonds by email info@ royalvagabondfoundation.org or phone at 314-882-3419.

This proposal for the Office of Civilian Oversight is long overdue and is the right thing to do in order to enhance transparency in the handling of civilian complaints of verbal and physical abuse at the hands of rogue police officers.

Currently, all complaints are investigated by the Internal Affairs Department, which consists of other police investigating their fellow colleagues, which to many in our community is like letting the fox oversee the chicken coop.

With the implementation of an effective Office of Civilian Oversight, we would have an independent body empowered to investigate citizens’ complaints against rogue police officers which also would allow the Office of Civilian Oversight to submit its findings and recommendations for certain actions to be taken by the police chief.

The board will also issue reports to the community documenting the department’s responsiveness to its recommendations, as well as give statistical breakdowns as to types of complaints, findings, location by district and the number of officers with multiple complaints.

Over the years, a vast majority of citizens have lost confidence in the current process of handling complaints against the police. Therefore, by implementing the Office of Civilian Oversight, a sense of credibility would be fostered. We applaud the continued efforts of Alderman Terry Kennedy and other aldermen who support the concept of an Office of Civilian Oversight.

A previous effort to create an oversight board for the police department was passed by the Board of Aldermen several years ago, but vetoed by Mayor Slay. We truly hope that Slay see the light this time and reflects the will of the people by endorsing this proposal when it comes before him once again.

Zaki Baruti is president of the Universal African Peoples Organization.

Royal Vagabonds, Inc. Grand Pharaoh Willis Young; Edward Jones Partner Larry E. Thomas, Leadership Luncheon chair; Lifetime Achievement Awardee Frankie Muse Freeman; and Royal Vagabonds Foundation President Joseph DuBose Jr. Photo by Wiley Price

Editorial /CommEntary

Chance to make a deal on Medicaid?

A new report by St. Louis Public Radio on the legislative struggle to expand Medicaid in Missouri offers a glimmer of hope that the Republican supermajority in the Missouri Legislature might be enticed to do the right thing at last.

The benefits of Medicaid expansion, often explained here and elsewhere, are clear. Under the Affordable Care Act, the federal government would pay the full cost of expanding Medicaid up to 138 percent of the poverty level – with the state gradually paying up to 10 percent. Health experts estimate that Medicaid expansion would bring 24,000 new jobs to the state, as well as $8 billion in promised federal money over the first six years.

The Republican opposition to Medicaid expansion is equally clear. It would expand what Republicans deride as an “entitlement program” and take advantage of a provision in the landmark federal legislation steered by President Obama. Missouri Republicans have aggressively supported a national Republican movement to stymy everything Obama attempts, but especially his efforts to reform health care and health insurance.

The new hope for negotiation, reported by St. Louis Public Radio, lies in the fact that Republican state Sen. Rob Schaaf – an ardent, outspoken foe of Obamacare and Medicaid expansion – is steering some unrelated health bills that are opposed by the Missouri Hospital Association. The association aggressively supports Medicaid expansion as perhaps the only way to keep some of its member hospitals, particularly in rural areas, in business. One way to save their hospitals and expand Medicaid could be to negotiate with Schaaf on his bills that the association opposes.

“Hospitals need to do some soul-searching over spring break,” state Sen. Jolie Justus, D-Kansas City, told St. Louis Public Radio. “Because the reality is that they desperately need the Medicaid expansion. There’s no question about that. They really hate the other stuff. Do they hate that other stuff so much that they’re willing to forego the possibility of opening the door to a Missouri-style Medicaid expansion?”

This “other stuff” is legislation that Schaaf, a family physician from St. Joseph, introduced earlier this year aimed at increasing the number of health-care providers and

publicizing the prices of medical procedures.

“Every time there’s been an issue in this building where one senator has been completely entrenched, if you get that senator sitting down at the table and give them a stake in it, it helps things move forward,” Justus said. “Even if it’s just incrementally. And so, I think that the establishment that doesn’t like those issues would be foolish to ignore this opportunity.”

We agree.

Schaaf said his legislation, opposed by the hospital group, “would increase competition in health care, which would drive down the prices and control the costs so that health care could become more affordable for everyone.” For example, it would prompt insurance companies and providers to give patients the cost estimates of medical procedures. “When you made it so that consumers could choose on the basis of price, immediately prices started dropping like a rock,” Schaaf said. It would also provide loan forgiveness to doctors who practice in “underserved areas,” which is commendable.

We urge these heretofore implacably opposed interests to sit down at the deal table – sooner rather than later – and find common ground that extends needed health coverage to thousands of Missourians. Missouri has 24,000 jobs, $8 billion in federal money, not to mention better health care for our neediest citizens, at stake.

Commentary

Toward our collective liberation

Hollywood has finally taken an unflinching look at slavery. It’s past time for the rest of the country to do the same. I wanted to wait a few days before writing about the best picture Oscar for “12 Years a Slave” to see if it still felt like an important milestone. It does. Academy Award recognition for one wellmade movie obviously does not make up for a century of pretending that slavery never happened. But perhaps the movie industry’s top prize can give impetus to the efforts of artists and scholars who are beginning to honestly confront this nation’s Original Sin. We tell ourselves that we know all about slavery, that it’s ancient history. But we’ve never fully investigated its horrors, which means we’ve never come to terms with them, which means we’ve never been able to get beyond them. Where slavery is concerned, we are imprisoned by William Faulkner’s famous epigram: “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” The success of “12 Years a Slave” may be a significant step toward our collective liberation.

The movie came just a year after “Django Unchained,” the 2012 epic in which Quentin Tarantino reimagined slavery as a Southern-fried spaghetti Western. “Django” had one of those traditional heroon-a-quest story lines that Hollywood can’t get enough of, and Tarantino’s blood-spattered style was perfect for capturing the unspeakable brutality that sustained American slavery.

But “12 Years” is vastly more important, for two reasons: It won best picture, and it’s based on a true story.

Solomon Northup, a free man, really was kidnapped in 1841 and sold into slavery. He really did spend a dozen years in captivity. He really did meet a brave young woman named Patsey. He really did survive the experience, secure his release in 1853 and publish a powerful memoir that was the basis for John Ridley’s Oscarwinning screenplay. It took a British auteur and an A-list movie star to bring Northup’s harrowing story to the screen. Steve McQueen, the first black director of a best picture winner, has said that his wife “discovered” Northup’s book; in fact, it is one of the best-known slave narratives. Producer Brad Pitt provided the box-office clout needed to overcome Hollywood’s reservations about this ambitious film, starring unknown black actors, that sought to challenge audiences rather than delight them. No matter. Chiwetel Ejiofor delivered a searing, Oscarnominated performance as Northup. Lupita Nyong’o won an Oscar for making Patsey the film’s most haunting character and has emerged, by consensus, as the year’s brightest new star. And because of the awards, there is new interest in McQueen’s film and Northup’s book – which means that more people will educate themselves about slavery.

Slave owners, including the Founding Fathers, knew very well that they were sinners. Owning slaves was a matter of economics – one could hardly be expected to run a plantation without them – and luxury.

James Madison called slavery “the most oppressive dominion ever exercised by

Keeping people from the polls

Republican lawmakers in Missouri have made it their priority to hinder and place unreasonable restrictions on our most fundamental right in a democracy: the right to vote.

On February 27, the Republicansponsored HCS HJR 47 was passed on a strict partyline vote. This resolution will amend the Missouri Constitution to say that voters may be required to obtain and present stateapproved photo identification to vote. In this struggling economy, many people will be unable to afford the fees and transportation costs involved in getting a new ID.

HCS HJR 47 will have the effect of radically restricting the right to vote for tens of thousands of Missourians and will disproportionately (and perhaps purposefully) adversely impact minorities, seniors, students, and low-income people who (Republicans know) typically make up the Democratic base.

At least six states with Republican majorities in control of state Houses have

passed such restrictions and more are in the works, revealing a pattern of a general conspiracy among Republican lawmakers nationwide to keep people from the polls.

We should be ashamed.

We should focus our efforts on ensuring that every citizen of this state has the ability to vote easily, but instead the Republican-controlled House has just made it more difficult to vote and has raised an unnecessary burden.

I look at this as a step backward and compare the

n Claiming there is widespread voter fraud as an excuse to restrict voting rights is political fraud.

new restrictions to poll taxes, which were responsible for disenfranchising many African Americans during the 1960s.

Worse, Republicans seem to think they can remain in control only through a form of Apartheid rather than expanding their own voter base.

Letters to the editor

Local control and civilian oversight

The citizens of St. Louis made it abundantly plain that they wanted local control. The majority expressed at the ballot box in a non-binding referendum in 2010 and again in 2012 as a ballot initiative.

The Coalition Against Police Crimes & Repression (CAPCR), in conjunction with many allies, led the charge for local control for over 30 years. The Organization for Black Struggle is proud to be a part of the coalition.

man over man” – but did not free the slaves he owned.

Thomas Jefferson believed slavery should be ended in the future – but continued to own slaves throughout his lifetime.

Patrick Henry, who said, “Give me liberty or give me death,” believed that slavery was “evil” – but would not free the men and women he owned because of “the general inconvenience of living without them.”

One price the slave owners paid was constant fear of insurrection, especially after the Haitian revolution. As the slave population in the United States grew sharply after the invention of the cotton gin, techniques of repression and control increased in brutality.

Many people think of slavery as only a Southern phenomenon, but some of the biggest slave traders in the country were based in Rhode Island. Commerce in cotton picked by slaves was so important to New York’s growth as a financial center that the mayor, Fernando Wood, wanted the city to secede during the Civil War in order to continue doing business with the Confederacy. As the war raged, slaves across the South took advantage of chaos to escape. Able-bodied whites who otherwise would have fought in the Confederate Army had to stay home to make sure that slaves did not rise in rebellion or simply run away.

Scholars digging through public, commercial and family archives are unearthing facts and stories that have long been swept under the rug. Hollywood’s recognition of “12 Years a Slave” announces an uncomfortable truth: Slavery’s story is America’s story. Eugene Robinson’s email address is eugenerobinson@ washpost.com.

The fight for local control cannot be complete until some form of a civilian oversight board is adopted. This board must be independent of the police department and have the power and resources to investigate citizen complaints against the department. A bill to enact such oversight is forthcoming. CAPCR worked diligently in 2006 to pass a similar bill, which was vetoed by Mayor Slay.

We urge citizens to be vigilant and to get active in this phase of local control. It is a critical piece towards accountability and trust that has been sorely lacking in our city.

Montague Simmons Organization for Black Struggle

We know what works

Framing the My Brother’s Keeper initiative as both a moral and economic imperative, President Obama has done what Congress has failed to do over the past five years – convene a diverse and bipartisan coalition of Americans committed to targeted help for communities and populations most in need. At the heart of the initiative is a commitment from a group of businesses and large and small foundations who have pledged at least $200 million over the next five years, on top of the $150 million they have already invested to test and expand proven strategies for improving the life prospects of young males of color.

We know what works: early childhood education, stronger pathways to college and the world of work, alternatives to zero-tolerance discipline policies, shutting down the school-to-prison pipeline, more guidance from fathers and mentors, and the courage and determination of young males of color themselves to reject

There is no justification for stricter voter ID laws. Republicans have created a false narrative that there is widespread election fraud, when they cannot point to any specific instances of the abuses they are supposedly saving us all from with these draconian measures. Claiming there is widespread voter fraud as an excuse to restrict voting rights is political fraud. The right to vote is precious thing and perhaps the most important part of our democracy. We must remain strong and fight this measure. The history of voting rights in America is full of violence, hatred and struggle for justice. Many people died trying to protect that right, and we should let nothing destroy their legacy. As a state representative from North St. Louis, I will fight any measures that have the effect of disenfranchising my constituents. This new resolution is a gross infringement on their right to vote and an unjustified barrier to democracy. It is an act unworthy of a free society and our proud democracy. Peters, a Democrat, represents District 76 in the Missouri House of Representatives.

negative stereotypes, make good choices and succeed.

Marc H. Morial President and CEO National Urban League

Raising the minimum wage

The new Congressional Budget Office report confirms that the Fair Minimum Wage Act will lead to higher pay for more than half a million Missouri workers and a path out of poverty for nearly a 283,000 Missouri children. Passing the Fair Minimum Wage Act would inject more than $821 million in new wages into Missouri. Raising the minimum wage increases the economic security and purchasing power of our state’s families, and that is good for our economy. When employers refuse to pay a decent wage, we all pay the price.

Lara Granich, director Missouri Jobs With Justice

EPA: involve the Corps

Senator Blunt, Senator McCaskill, Congressman Clay and Congresswoman Wagner sent a letter on February 28 to EPA Region 7. The letter requested that the EPA contract directly with the Army Corps of Engineers to handle any and all remediation needed at the West Lake Landfill site and that the Corps be involved with the development of the EPA’s forthcoming Record of Decision.

It’s now up to EPA Region 7 to give the community and its elected officials what we want, and that is the involvement of the Corps of Engineers. The Corps has a positive track record at sites around St. Louis contaminated with the same radioactive wastes as those illegally dumped at the West Lake Landfill in 1973.

Ed Smith Missouri Coalition for the Environment

Beneath the standards

Former St. Louis Alderman Kacie Starr Triplett is to be commended. She publicly confessed to inappropriate, perhaps illegal, activities stating that her “mistakes” were

fostered by greed, not by need. Triplett’s words of contrition should be inscribed on a wall in the rotunda of City Hall: “the misappropriation of any amount is improper and beneath the standards for anyone who serves the public.”

Columnist Eugene Robinson

Guest Columnist State Rep. Josh Peters

Michael K. Broughton Green Park

HSSU qualifies for ‘HBCU Battle of Brains’

After placing second in the National Championship Qualifying Tournament of the Honda Campus All-Star Challenge – the “HBCU Battle of Brains” – the Harris-Stowe State University team recently received a bid to attend the HCACS National Championship Tournament in April at Honda’s Torrance, Calif. headquarters. From left: Matthew Gandolfo, Jocelyn Jackson, Erik Shelquist, Dr. Eileen A. O’Brien, Interim President Constance Gully, Jacquelyn Ingram, Vincent Hagins and Tyler Saddler.

Blue Book returns to print

Secretary of State Jason Kander forged a new partnership between his office and the Missouri Press Association to print the “2013–2014 Official Manual, State of Missouri,” commonly known as the “Blue Book.” Since 2011, the “Blue Book” has been available solely online.

The Missouri Press Association will handle the production and distribution of the new printed edition, which has been available online since last December at www.mobluebook.com.

The “Blue Book,” which is published by the secretary of state every two years, includes an overview of state government services and contact information for government officials and departments.

For more information, contact the Missouri Press Association by calling 573-449-4167.

Deltas host Social Action Fair

On Saturday, March 22, the St. Louis Metropolitan Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. will host its 2nd annual Social Action Fair at the O’Fallon Park YMCA Recreational Center located 4343 West Florissant Ave. The theme is “The State of Missouri: Safety, Education, & Legislation.”

The fair will provide information and education on health and wellness, urban issues, legal services, domestic violence prevention, advocacy services, Medicaid expansion, proposed voter ID legislation, and fair goers will have the opportunity to register for health care services to ensure compliance with the Affordable Care Act.

For more information, please visit www.dstslmac.com.

Free landlord training on nuisance prevention

On Saturday, March 29, North Newstead Association will host free Nuisance Prevention and Abatement Training for landlords, a five-hour training that will cover the basics of nuisance properties, nuisance prevention, and nuisance abatement for rental properties, including participation from members of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. To register, visit http://northnewstead.org/calendar-ofevents/. For more information, email northnewstead@ hotmail.com with “Landlord Training” in the subject line.

SIUE seeks donations for new students

The International Hospitality Program at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville is seeking donations of gently used and new items to welcome the campus population of international students and help them adjust to life in the United States. Mattresses, beds, vacuum cleaners, dishes, pots and pans, blenders, silverware, blankets, sheets, towels, wash cloths and basic kitchen utensils are among some of the other items needed. For information about the variety of items that are needed, or to make arrangements to have items collected, contact Susan Jernigan at sjernigan@charter.net, or 618-304-3443, or John Kautzer at kaut@ameritech.net, or 618-980-4415.

Prisons and us

By Christi Griffin For The St. Louis American

Few acknowledge the reality of our modern day system of incarcerations. We’ve been indoctrinated to ignore this burgeoning system of enslavement and illicit profit. For years, we took comfort in the arrest of “criminals” and gave credence to the knee-jerk reaction to “lock ‘em all up.”

Over the last three decades the United States has experienced a decline in world ranking in technology, science and education and a trajectory to the No. 1 ranking in incarcerating its citizens. Equally disturbing, you and I are paying the price.

Those who convinced us that capitalism was the key to America’s dream also hoodwinked us into looking the other way while they amassed unimaginable wealth. They’ve done so by cutting jobs, cutting wages and imprisoning even the innocent.

Those at the helm of a prison system that’s grown to a $60 billion industry over the last 30 years are also among the corporate bosses who outsourced jobs and decreased wages. Those who have convinced Congress to close mental health institutions and treat the mentally ill behind prison walls are the same CEOs who reduced your salary and foreclosed your mortgage. Crime has shifted from the streets to the prisons. One out of every four African-American children have at least one parent in prison by the age of 14. Schools are now pipelines to prison.

If you feel safe today, it’s because there’s an alarm on your car and two on your house; your windows are locked and you’re in before dark; your children go through metal detectors and rarely play outside.

If you feel safe today, it’s not because prisons have reformed a “criminal” or kept him locked away, it’s because you’ve surrendered every possible freedom in return.

Legislative seats have been filled by those whose ancestors paraded in white hoods and terrorized Black towns. But today they don’t burn crosses or run wild in the streets. Today their crosses are pens and their flames are unemployment, mass incarceration, foreclosures and bankruptcies.

While some believed they reached the Promised Land, the reality of corporate greed has become all too real. Those who think prisons aren’t your concern, think again.

Christi Griffin is the founder of The Ethics Project, a non-profit organization addressing the impact of crime, injustice and incarcerations, and the author of “Incarcerations in Black and White: The Subjugation of Black America.”

Christi Griffin

JACKSON

Continued from A1

made mammograms accessible to more than 2,600 women via their churches.

On Friday, April 25, Jackson will receive the 2014 Lifetime Achiever in Health Care Award at the St. Louis American Foundation’s Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards Luncheon at the Frontenac Hilton.

“We are bringing a lot more awareness, especially in the African-American community, where women are still being diagnosed in the late stages,” said Jackson. “We are getting the message out. Within the African-American community, we have established trust and that’s really important.”

Throughout her career, Jackson said she has always chosen to work in communities that are underserved medically.

Jackson graduated from Homer G. Phillips School of Nursing in 1967, and that’s where she “fell in love” with pediatrics. Enrolling in the Homer G. Phillips program was one of the best career moves she ever made, she said.

“When I went through the program, they were not only teaching us nursing, they also taught you lessons for life,” she

McMILLAN

Continued from A1 times are demanding more and more of the Urban League.

Last year, the Urban League locally served nearly 80,000 people through its 25 programs. He envisions that the organization will serve 100,000 individuals by its 100th anniversary. Over the last seven months, he said, the Urban League has increased its membership from 37 to 537.

McMillan outlined a comprehensive plan that will help the organization better meet the demands of the 21st

said. “The women I went to nursing school with have been in a club together for almost 30 some years. We all feel like the education we received there inspired excellence.”

Jackson went on to work at Grace Hill for 27 years. In 1996, she also started working part-time at People’s Health Centers, opening up their radiology department and getting the center certified to

n “We are bringing awareness in the African-American community, where women are still being diagnosed in the late stages.”

– Sherrill Jackson

do mammograms. In 2006, she joined People’s full-time to manage the centers’ schoolbased program.

“I enjoy collaborating with the various schools and the nurses who are over the departments,” she said. “The program enables children to get medical care without the parents having to take off work.”

She also loves how People’s reaches out to the community

century through a strategic partnership with Vector Communications. He said the Urban League’s social services programs will help its clients obtain employment that advances upward mobility and establish wealth as bank account holders, homebuyers and business owners.

“Quality health care is also a critical and basic need that is not always readily available in minority and disadvantaged populations,” he said. The Urban League, he said, will expand its health care services.

Turning toward East St. Louis Mayor Alvin Parks Jr., McMillan vowed to significantly increase the Urban

in many ways, including health fairs, activities and immunization days.

One of her favorite outreach projects with People’s is the community gardens. About 11 years ago, Jackson led the creation of a community garden across the street from a senior living residence, near Goodfellow and Delmar boulevards. She partnered with Gateway Greening to apply for a grant.

“I’ve learned a lot from the seniors who love to garden,” she said. “As a result of that garden, we formed a bond with the police department to help the seniors to work with it. The seniors don’t have stamina, but they have lots of knowledge.”

Outside of her work with People’s, she has become increasingly more active in the community since her diagnosis.

“I would not have ever chosen to have breast cancer, but it has changed my life,” she said. “I have been on local and national boards. I don’t think that would have happened if I had not been diagnosed with breast cancer.”

She is a board member with the Susan G. Komen for the Cure St. Louis Affiliate, Disparities Elimination Advisory Committee for the Siteman Cancer Center, and National Sisters Study on Breast Cancer.

League’s presence in East St. Louis, Ill. and St. Clair County.

The iconic keynote speaker was former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, Young has served as an ordained minister, U.S. congressman, transformational mayor of Atlanta and civil rights leader who fought nonviolently alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was a key strategist and negotiator during the civil rights campaigns in Birmingham and Selma that resulted in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“Ninety-three percent of the black people killed are

Veteran St. Louis civil rights activists Frankie Muse Freeman, Norman R. Seay, and Percy Green II were hosted by the Bar Association of Metropolitan St.

for its discussion of the 50th anniversary of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, held March 5 at BAML’s office, 555 Washington Ave.

And she is also a board member with The Breakfast Club, Inc. The club’s stated goals are “to increase the rate of mammography screening, clinical breast exams and breast self-awareness among AfricanAmerican women residing in North St. Louis City and County.”

killed by other black people, Ambassador Young said.

“Eighty-four percent of white people killed are killed by other white people. So it’s not a race problem that we have it’s a violence problem.”

Mayor Francis G. Slay presented Ambassador Young with a key to the City of St. Louis.

St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famer Lou Brock urged the crowd to support the Urban League.

“In baseball, we learn that timing is everything,” Brock said. “The time to support the Urban League is now.”

Brock and his wife, Jacqueline, served as co-chairs

Before her diagnosis, she said she always thought the medical field was “further along” in its breast cancer outreach. She said, “The Breakfast Club has opened my eyes that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done.”

Tickets for the 14th Annual

of the 2014 Whitney M. Young Society, along with Todd Schnuck, former board chairman of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and current board member.

Lou and Jacqueline Brock, both ordained ministers, have generously made a $10,000 donation to the Urban League.

The Whitney M. Young Society recognizes donors to the Urban League at the $500, $1,000 $2,500 and $5,000 levels.

Thomas R. Voss, outgoing president and CEO of Ameren Corporation and Annual Dinner committee honorary chair, presented the Urban League with a check from Ameren

Salute to Excellence in Health Care Awards Luncheon on Friday, April 25 at the Frontenac Hilton are $750 per table for VIP/Corporate seating and $50 each/$500 table for Individual seating. To order tickets, call 314-5338000 or visit www.stlamerican. com.

totaling $95,000. There was an audible gasp from the crowd. McMillan said the Urban League’s strength lies with its members and partnerships, like long-time partner the United Way of Greater St. Louis. The United Way recently renewed the Urban League’s funding of over $1.2 million in annual support. “We need you to get involved today,” McMillan said. “We need everyone’s help to fulfill the mission of this organization.”

For more information on the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, visit www.ulstl.org.

Louis

Photo courtesy of BAMSL

HUDSON

Continued from A1

Hudson said at a Friday campaign reception held by the Ecumenical Leadership Council at the Great Grace Church.

Hudson is running for a seat on the STLCC Board of Trustees in the April 8 election. Incumbent Melissa Hartmann, who currently holds the Subdistrict 1 seat, will not be running for re-election. Hudson has one opponent, Theodis Brown Sr., chief of the Castlepoint Fire Protection Association.

The STLCC subdistrict that Hudson hopes to represent includes the Hazelwood, Ferguson/Florissant, Riverview Gardens, Jennings, Pattonville, Ritenour, University City, Normandy, Clayton and Ladue school districts.

Hudson is the currently the regional field organizer for Region IV of the NAACP. Before working with the NAACP, he was a program associate for the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri.

At the Friday reception, STLCC Board of Trustees Vice Chairperson Doris Graham said she strongly supports Hudson as a candidate.

“He is a man of integrity,” Graham said. “He’s an honest

SWEETIE

Continued from A1 students raised their hands.

“My mom used to say, ‘If opportunity don’t knock, then build your own door and kick it in,’” Montgomery said. “This is your dream. Nobody believes in you like you do.”

She learned her culinary skills from her mother, Ora Montgomery, and admitted a fondness for her mother’s homemade “ice-box lemon pie.” Prior to the event, students were asked to submit a favorite family recipe and explain why it was special to them. Montgomery said it was hard narrowing her selections down to the top three. Jonice Langford, of Clyde C. Miller, won first place with her family’s corn casserole recipe.

“I made this at the restaurant, and we enjoyed it,” Montgomery told Langford.

Asia Edwards, of Clyde C. Miller, and Kayra Mosby, of Beaumont, were the other two winners.

At Montgomery’s public

man, a wonderful husband and a good father. He will help bring unity to the board. If elected he would be working right by my side, working to make sure the board is moving as one and that there’s no division in our mission.”

In July, the six board trustees were divided in the vote to extend former Chancellor Myrtle E.B. Dorsey’s contract past June 2014. Hence the motion to extend Dorsey’s contract failed on the 3-3 vote. Those voting against were trustees Hattie Jackson, Joan McGivney and Libby Fitzgerald.

appearance on Saturday, she discussed her philosophy on life and her experience as a successful entrepreneur. She said she hopes that more people – particularly women and African Americans – will aspire to open their own businesses.

“That way we can empower the economy and get more people jobs, because there’s so many people out of work that it’s depressing,” she said. She discussed what it is like starring in a hit TV show (which returns to the OWN Network for a new season on March 15) and gave the audience a sneak peek of what to expect this season. She said there is still an ongoing debate between her and her son, Tim Norman, as to whether they should expand Sweetie Pie’s into Houston or Los Angeles. She also said the audience can expect an announcement regarding the release of a cookbook.

Annie C. Schlafly, St. Louis Public Library Foundation board member, was instrumental in establishing Food for Thought, which was inspired by the library’s

The African-American support for Dorsey, who is African-American, on the Board of Trustees was also split. Graham supported her contract renewal, while Jackson opposed it.

In a recent interview with The St. Louis American Interim Chancellor Dennis Michaelis said that there needs to be more stability and unity among the board in order to move the college forward.

(Read story “STLCC: not One College” on A11)

Supporters believe Hudson has the background and skillset to be that bridge maker.

culinary collection, which marked its 25th anniversary this year.

Cathy Heimberger, director of marketing at the St. Louis Public Library, said the library’s goal is to expand the event into an annual

“Redditt is an organizer; that’s what he’s great at,” said attorney Maurice Foxworth. “He’s a mediator, and that’s the type of person that needs to be part of the board.”

Former St. Louis City Fire Chief Sherman George said, “Redditt’s commitment is to the entire community, and especially empowering the black community. He is always doing what is right and necessary. I know he will do what’s necessary for the college.”

Hudson is a former St. Louis police officer. He left the force in 1999 to focus

celebration. This year’s theme is all about pastries.

Montgomery told the students that desserts are her favorite part of a meal and said she initially wanted to tap into the lucrative pastry industry by specializing in pies. That was

on addressing systemic problems in the criminal justice system and improving the police’s relationship with the community. In 2000 he co-founded Project PEACE, an organization working with educators, students and parents to address gang violence prevention and intervention, while promoting individual and community responsibility and accountability.

Hudson sat on the U.S. Attorneys Hate Crimes Task Force in St. Louis.

In 2005, he began working with the ACLU of Eastern Missouri as its racial justice manager. He authored the 2008 ACLU study on the crisis in St. Louis jails, Suffering in Silence. Though dismissed by the Slay administration and Post-Dispatch, its reports on drug smuggling and physical abuse in the jails were subsequently confirmed by federal convictions and video evidence.

Hudson remains an advocate for criminal justice reform and works to address civil liberties issues within the criminal justice system, and particularly within the police/community relationship.

Hudson lives in Florissant with his wife Hope, who has been a registered nurse for over 20 years, and his daughters Lauryn and Faith, who both are students in the FergusonFlorissant School District. His

before realizing that she could not build a business based on pies alone.

“I have to put the soul food in here to help the pies,” she said. “Well, the soul food took off and I haven’t got to the pies yet.”

family also includes a daughter Elizabeth and a stepson, Justin.

Before marrying Redditt 16 years ago, Hope attended STLCC’s School of Nursing at the Meramec campus as a single mother and said she strongly believes in STLCC’s mission.

“I had my son when in high school,” she said. “St. Louis Community College was affordable and accessible.” Hope believes her husband would be a perfect advocate for students in their community.

“He speaks for people who can’t speak for themselves –that’s him,” she said. “He’s very community-oriented, and he’s always been that way.” Hudson grew up in the University City School District and graduated in 1983 from University City High School, where he earned all-state player honors after four years as a star basketball player. Hudson graduated from St. Louis University, where he played basketball for four years. At the Friday reception, Hudson said his opposition has run for the seat and lost six times. However, he does not want this to be his opponent’s “lucky 7.”

“This is not a presidential election, so we don’t typically see the turnout we need,” Hudson told his supporters. “You’ve got to help me get people to the polls.”

For a complete listing of Food for Thought programs and events, visit slpl.org. The new season of “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s” premieres Saturday, March 15 at 8 pm. Central.

Former Fire Chief Sherman George, Hope Hudson, candidate Redditt Hudson, STLCC Board of Trustees Vice Chair Doris Graham and former Ferguson-Florissant Superintendent Art McCoy Jr. at a campaign reception for Hudson held Friday at the Great Grace Church.

Photo by Wiley Price

Who is Steve Stenger?

St. Louis County Councilman Steve Stenger presented himself in the new offices of The St. Louis American on Tuesday morning for an editorial board meeting.

Stenger, 42, who is in his second year of his second term representing parts of South County on the council, has filed in the Democratic primary against incumbent County Executive Charlie A. Dooley. Stenger came alone, which the EYE scores in his favor for the first visit of a non-black candidate. The EYE knows that in 2014 any white candidate has a black friend he can get to accompany him to an editorial board meeting at a black community newspaper. It’s appreciated when a white candidate comes in alone prepared to explain – candidly and on the record – why black people should vote for him (or, at least, not vote blindly against him before scrutinizing his candidacy).

corporations.

The EYE understands that this is probably not the same story the corporate community hears when Steger visits with them, but no foul there. We are talking about a politician. He is expected to speak to the concerns of the people in the room.

Stenger’s story started to get more interesting when he spoke of his work as a litigator in private practice taking spillover defense cases that the federal public defender can’t handle. (For example, the federal public defender might be conflicted out because a client is testifying against another indigent defendant. In this case, outside counsel is needed for the other defendant.)

Steve Stenger

Stenger brought a story to tell. He talked about growing up in relative racial isolation in the southwestern fringe of the city that votes so heavily for Mayor Francis G. Slay (and voted so heavily against Barack Obama). He talked about expanding his experience of racial diversity during his college years in North County at the University of Missouri – St. Louis, where he studied accounting. He became a CPA and went to work at Ernst & Young in St. Louis. After studying law at Saint Louis University, he threw aside his first career in transactional law to establish his own practice, wanting to practice law for people, rather than

Stenger said it was eye-opening to sit on the same side of the courtroom with the poorest, socially expendable defendants, many of them black, accused of federal crimes. A defense attorney needs to learn the most disturbing and pathetic facts about a client’s life, especially in the sentencing phase, in an effort to conjure some sympathy from the jury and judge. Stenger talked about being a white Catholic boy from South St. Louis who suddenly became deeply acquainted with the worst horror stories of the poorest black people in the St. Louis metropolitan area. This did not come across as Bill Clinton-esque “I feel your pain” pandering. Rather, it came across as a lawyer from South County making a convincing case for why he understands some of the issues in the poorest areas of the county, which are the special

Reception for Redditt

concern of a black community newspaper.

Not being a fool, Stenger was neither claiming nor implying that all black people in the county are criminals or so poor that they require a public defender if accused of a crime. He also discussed having a black friend who underwrites bonds and is not happy with the Dooley administration because he feels he has not been able to compete for contracts from county government.

This brings us to the crucial consideration of minority inclusion in county government workforce and contracting.

Stenger said on the record that he is all for M/WBE inclusion and is prepared to insist on it, no matter what his new friends and funders in the construction trades say.

The EYE understands that this may not be the same story that Stenger’s current friends and funders in the construction trades hear when Steger visits with them, but we are talking about a politician. If he wins, of course, he will need to be pressured by the community to keep any of the promises he makes on the campaign trail.

Stenger was dead right when he said the Dooley administration was a Johnny come lately to the importance

of minority inclusion goals, showing the first sign of life on this issue on the campaign trail during a downtime when there are no millions or billions in contracts on the table.

And this led to Stenger’s sharpest point, which could resonate with black voters if he has the courage to take the message to them directly –and it would be a risky move that could backfire. Not in these exact words, but Stenger implied that Charlie Dooley is a black man and politician, but you wouldn’t necessarily know that by looking at his administration and how it does business.

“Having watched Charlie from the beginning of his career,” Stenger said, “I don’t think the problem is Charlie but the people he has surrounded himself with.” The EYE put some names on the table: John Temporiti and Gary Earls Stenger agreed, those would be the names. He described Earls as “a tank that doesn’t move in reverse” – a good image for the Jeff Rainford chief of staff type. Of Temporiti, Stenger said, “At this point, I think he is only in it for himself.” Of course, you can read these sentiments in almost any edition of the St. Louis PostDispatch, whether expressed by

Redditt Hudson, a candidate for the STLCC Board of Trustees, and his wife Hope visited with Bishop L.O. Jones at the campaign reception for Hudson held Friday at Bishop Jones’ church, the Great Grace Church, 3690 Pershall Rd.

Stenger or the Post’s editorial board, whose positions are often indistinguishable. Where does this leave Mike Jones, the African-American political veteran who still has a position, at least officially, in Dooley’s inner circle? Stenger – who surely knows Jones has a good relationship with The American – chose his words carefully. He said Jones seems independent of Temporiti and Earls, though Stenger was unsure of any influence Jones has on Dooley. “He seems to work behind the scenes,” Stenger said of Jones. This was a very savvy handling of that matter.

Let’s hear from Mike Jones himself, speaking to The American in October 2010, the last time Dooley defended his office. This was a general election, where Dooley faced a Republican, Bill Corrigan Then as now, Dooley was defending himself against the accusation that not very progressive white men, rather than Dooley himself, were running his administration.

Jones said, “My observation from working for county government is, from a black perspective, the political culture of county government is somewhere between hostile and indifferent. I don’t think we

have done anything to change that culture or the perception of it.” It’s four years later, and Dooley’s opponent – this time, a Democrat – still has the same potential campaign issue against him. Unlike Corrigan, a Republican with no hope of competing against Dooley at his base, Stenger might be able to use it.

Expanding Medicaid

Gov. Jay Nixon and state Rep. Tommy Pierson will host a community meeting at Greater St. Mark Family Church, 9950 Glen Owen Dr., 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 13 to discuss reforming and expanding Medicaid in Missouri. They will discuss how strengthening Medicaid will provide affordable health coverage to 300,000 working Missourians and bring the tax dollars Missourians send to Washington, D.C. back to Missouri. State Budget Director Linda Luebbering will provide an analysis of the budgetary implications of Medicaid reform and expansion, which would bring $6.1 billion back to the state over the next three years.

Candidates forum

North County Churches Uniting for Racial Harmony and Justice is holding its first candidates forum 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 18 at St. Marks United Church United Methodist Church, 315 Graham Rd., Florissant. All candidates running for office this year in North St. Louis County are welcome to participate, especially for FergusonFlorissant, Hazelwood School Boards, St. Louis Community College Board, St. Louis County Council and the St. Louis County Executive positions. Each candidate will be allowed to speak for five minutes and will be asked to respond to questions. All candidates who wish to participate, please contact President Rance Thomas, at 314 238-6828. The public is invited to attend and participate.

Photo by Wiley Price

Pamela Wells

Pamela (Neal) Wells was born December 12, 1953 to Prentiss and Esso (Randall) Neal and departed on February 8, 2014.

Pamela was a free spirited person. Almost two years ago, she decided that she wanted to be closer to her children and grandsons, so she moved to Tempe, Az. She was preceded in death by her father, Prentiss Neal, her maternal grandmother and grandfather Claude and Lillie Randall. She was a 1972 graduate from Northwest High School in St. Louis.

She is survived by her loving mother Esso (Randall) Moton of Atlanta, Ga.; her husband Percy Wells Jr. of Az.; her daughter Shaan Raven Wells of Az.; her son Percy III (Jessica) Wells of Az.; her nephew Nicholas Baker of St. Louis, whom she raised; her grandsons Rashaan and Dashaan Tombs of Az.; two sisters Angela Fingers of St. Louis and Marla (Avery)

Headd of Atlanta, Ga. and a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, in-laws, cousins and friends.

Eugene “Gene” Harris

December 7, 1935— January 13, 2014

Beloved husband, father, brother, and “Paw Paw”. We love and miss you! Gone but never forgotten.

Glenda W. Adkins

Glenda W. Adkins was born August 27, 1934 in St. Louis, Missouri, to the union of Donie and James Watt (her father preceded her in death). She matriculated through the St. Louis Public School System, graduating as a member of the National Honor Society from Vashon High School in January of 1951. She then attended Stowe Teachers College, receiving her Bachelor’s Degree from

Harris-Stowe Teachers College following the merger of the two schools in 1955. She began her work career as an Elementary Teacher at Franklin School in the Banneker School District, where she remained until 1971. During her tenure as an elementary school teacher, she obtained her credentials to be a reading specialist and earned her Master’s degree from St. Louis University. She left the St. Louis Public Schools in 1971, moving to the Normandy School District as a Reading Specialist. She later gained her administrative credentials while employed by the Normandy district. She retired from the district in June 1994 as Principal of McKinley Elementary School. While at Stowe Teacher’s College, Glenda pledged into the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., and crossed into their sisterhood in May of 1952. She proudly became a 60-year member of Delta in 2012. In life, many of us are fortunate to find one true love. Through her sisterhood with the women of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc., Glenda was privileged to find another. Her love for the women of Delta and what that tremendous organization stands for carried her through life. She lived her life by the guiding light of Delta, as do her sisters.

Glenda was united in marriage to Leroy J. Adkins for over 57 years. To this union, two sons were born (Kevin LeRoy and Alfred James). With her life partner, Glenda loved to travel and enjoyed and relished many friendships. They traveled to most of the 50 states, and set foot on four of Earth’s continents. She was a member of the Sociables Social Club and the Quettes. She was an Associate Member of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE), a member of the Vashon High Class of 1951 Alumni Association, and an ardent supporter of the St. Louis Gateway Classic. She was also a passionate member of the St. Peter African Methodist Episcopal Church. Glenda departed this life on March 4, 2014 after a battle with cancer. She leaves behind to mourn her passing: her mother, Donie LaGrone; a sister, Audrey Townson; her husband, Leroy Adkins; sons Kevin LeRoy Adkins (Maureen) and Alfred James Adkins (Stephanie); grandson Clayton Ryan Adkins ;

granddaughter Olivia Marie Adkins; a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and, without a doubt, her plethora of adored and beloved friends. To Heaven, she carries a piece of each one of you.

Ralph Frank Richter

Long time labor representative R. Frank Richter passed away on Sunday, February 23, 2014, after a courageous fight against cancer.

Frank served as a Field Representative for the American Federation of Teachers in the St. Louis Public Schools. Working for AFT St. Louis -Local 420, AFL-CIO Frank successfully served union members, worked on labor management issues and recruited hundreds of new members to the local.

Mr. Richter was passionate and skilled in his advocacy for organized labor and union members. His encyclopedic knowledge of St. Louis Public Schools policy and the labor/ management agreement between the district and the union enabled Frank to serve members with distinction. His renowned debate skills and research acumen more often than not aided Frank in his ability to resolve complex issues to the mutual benefit of

both parties. He was respected by both labor and management for his skill, wit and charm.

Before accepting his union assignment Frank taught at Vashon High School and helped initiate the VIPER program for students in science with his colleague (and lifelong friend) Ray Cummings under the direction of Dr. Charles Granger at the University of Missouri St. Louis. Mr. Richter also served as coach of the Vashon debate team.

Frank was a devoted fan of the St. Louis Cardinals and a skilled photographer.

He was quick to hand friends and colleagues copies of his remarkable photographs. In his photographic work captured people in action ranging from presidential candidate Barrack Obama to catcher Yadier Molina with a remarkable ability to “catch the precise moment” in time. He was also well-known for his story telling, humor and his support for having a good time.

Frank is survived by his sister Merrilee Lobos, and his brothers David, Daniel and Gregory. Contributions to “Cardinals Care” in Frank’s memory are appreciated. Expressions of sympathy may be sent to the attention of Ray Cummings, AFT St. Louis, 2710 Hampton Ave. St. Louis, MO 63139.

Attention St. Louis American Readers

As a service to the community, we list obituaries in the St. Louis American Newspaper, on a space-available basis and online at stlamerican.com. AT NO CHARGE. Please send all obituary notices to kdaniel @stlamerican.com.

Pamela Wells

Eugene Harris

Five times more likely to be held back

MU researcher studies effects of starting kindergarten early

American staff

A University of Missouri researcher has found that the youngest kindergartners are about five times more likely to be held back, compared to the oldest students.

“Research on retention has been somewhat more consistent in suggesting that holding children back a year is not the most effective practice,” said Francis Huang, assistant professor at MU. “Requiring children to repeat a grade is not only expensive for parents and school districts, but it also can affect children’s self-esteem

and their ability to adjust in the future.”

Huang suggested that schools should continue to be more flexible in assisting kindergarteners of varying ages so that they can proceed normally, rather than requiring them to repeat the grade.

“The youngest students in a classroom can be nine to 12 months less mature than their oldest peers,”

Huang said. “Teachers need to meet students where they are developmentally and adjust instructions based on a student’s ability. Studies have shown that only a small number of teachers modify classroom instruction to deal with a diverse set of students.”

Huang analyzed data from the nationally-representative “Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99” and found that, on average, the youngest kindergarteners were about five times more likely to be retained compared to the oldest kindergartners. However,

Huang found that children with higher attentiveness, task persistence, and eagerness to learn were less likely to repeat a grade.

In addition, Huang also noticed that a child’s height was associated with the likelihood of a child being retained. This relationship existed even after accounting for differences in children’s academic abilities, socioeconomic status, age and fine motor skills.

“If two children are having the same difficulties in the classroom and one child happens to be shorter than the other child, then the smaller, younger child has a much higher likelihood of being retained,” Huang said. Huang’s study, “Further Understanding Factors Associated with Grade Retention: Birthday Effects and Socioemotional Skills,” was published in the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

STLCC: not ‘One College’

Interim chancellor tries to implement previously ignored recommendations

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

Col-

St. Louis Community

lege has a lot of work to do. But the question is: does it have the leadership to get it done?

The college recently got stinging reviews of the admissions, registration and financial aid departments, according to two commissioned studies of the college’s functions.

Under former Chancellor Myrtle Dorsey, the college hired two consulting firms to review the way it conducts business and give recommendations. The findings were released in December.

The reports state that the four campuses lack unity and have completely different ways of registering students for classes and advising them on financial aid. The college’s practices and technology are at least 10 years behind the norm, according to the report.

This is not the first time STLCC leaders have heard this news. At least twice in last five years, the college has hired and paid consultants to tell them exactly what needs to be improved. Yet little has changed, stated the AACRAO Consulting firm in its report. Because the leadership changes so frequently and leaders have a “lack of authority,” nothing gets done, the report states.

“It was also reported that some very long-term employees basically dug their heels in and refused to change,” AACROA stated. “They would just wait it out until leadership changed.”

Many of these recommendations are repeats from

previous consultants, it states. AACRAO’s question to STLCC is: “What will make the change happen this time?”

Interim Chancellor Dennis Michaelis arrived a couple months before the reports were released. A retired community college president with more than 20 years of experience, he said his role is to make the college functional and attractive for potential chancellor candidates, who would take over in July 2015.

“I hope to affect enough change in direction, enrollment, budget and most of all in positive, optimistic attitude that this will be a place where

make sure they bring someone in that can provide stable leadership and not be at the whim of board members who don’t get along and who are not trying to move in the same direction.”

Admissions and registration

STLCC uses the motto “One College,” but in practice, it’s four campuses operating separately, the report states. That’s why Michaelis is hiring a vice chancellor of student services to bring all of the services – including admissions and

n The reports state that the four campuses lack unity and have completely different ways of registering students for classes and advising them on financial aid.

really bright people want to apply for this position,” he said.

If the college does not make certain changes, it could faces losing its accreditation, he said.

“I don’t think that’s eminent, but I think that unless some of these trends are reversed, it could lead to that,” he said.

His ultimate goal is to get enrollment up. The student population has dropped from 29,000 at one time to 21,000 currently.

Aside from loss of students, there are other looming threats, Michaelis said. First, what he described as the “discord” on the board. He said he wants “to

financial aid – under the same procedures and guidelines, as AACROA recommended. This piece will be in place by next year, he said.

AACROA had a lot to say about the admissions and registration departments. First there is no leader for admissions in the district office, which makes managing enrollment and recruitment difficult. Admissions applications are “cluttered with unnecessary information and requests for student information,” the report states. Admissions requirements are interpreted differently on each campus, and “there is a training defi-

cit.”

The firm recommended the college use already existing technology, its Banner system, and get rid of any paper files. Admissions advisors on all campuses should use the same checklist and be trained together.

In registration, the “degree audit programming” is incomplete and “contributes to inaccurate advising and the high volume of substitutions and waivers.”

“STLCC has never engaged in a study to measure if students can complete any degree offered in a reasonable timeframe based on class offerings term to term,” the AACROA report stated.

In September, The St. Louis American reported that many students with Pell grants were amassing incredible amounts of credit hours without obtaining degrees when Dorsey arrived at the college in 2011, according to inside sources. College counselors are supposed to ensure that students take mainly the courses needed for degrees and prevent them from spiraling into unnecessary student debt. However, these students were taking elective classes that didn’t apply to their degrees – some of which were taught by their counselors.

The report also found that, “The class schedule offerings do not appear to be driven by student demand and educational plans.”

“We need serious work,” Michaelis said. “I see myself as not only a change agent, but also a person who can help emphasize the positive impacts of what we are trying to do.”

Lynchville, Illinois

Belleville’s 200th anniversary

not all festive

This year you’ll undoubtedly be overwhelmed with news of Belleville, Ill. and its 200th anniversary, taking you from its humble beginnings to visits by future President JFK, to the celebration of native sons such as Buddy “Jed Clampett” Ebsen of Beverly Hillbillies fame.

What won’t be celebrated is a dark day 111 years ago, when David Wyatt, a “negro” teacher from Brooklyn, Ill., was lynched by a mob of 200 white men and hung on the Belleville Public Square, mutilated, then burned to a crisp as men women and children gathered and cheered, creating a festive picnic-like atmosphere.

Accounts of the horrific June 8, 1903 event are well documented, in graphic detail, in the book “100 Years of Lynching” by Ralph Ginzburg, as well as through accounts by the New York Herald, New York Times and the Belleville Daily Advocate

According to the Advocate, Wyatt went to St. Clair County superintendent of schools Charles Hertel’s office to simply renew his teaching certificate. Upon being denied Wyatt allegedly left, then returned. Accounts of the incident say that Wyatt argued with and then shot Hertel, subsequently struggling with Hertel and an assistant.

Wyatt was eventually arrested by police, as cries of “Lynch him!” came from the crowd which had, by now, gathered outside of the Belleville jail.

Mayor Fred J. Kern (greatgrandfather of St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark A. Kern) “mounted a box near the front of the jail and … told (the crowd) that the law should speedily take its course ... His remarks were greeted with scoffing,” reported the Advocate The New York Herald reported that Mayor Kern “is understood to have given orders that no shots be fired” (what about no lynching?); but to no avail. Mayor Kern and other officials “consulted and agreed that to oppose the crowd with force would not be good policy,” reported the Advocate. “Kern opposed this on the grounds that it would make the people angry.”

So rather than incite a riot (as opposed to a lynching), “Mayor Kern telephoned to the police station half an hour later (after the lynching) and ordered that an undertaker be directed to remove what remained of the body,” reported the Advocate How civil of Mayor Kern (then) and how convenient for Belleville, Ill. (now) to ignore yet another episode in its 200-year history of sordid and repeated racial strife. Happy 200th anniversary, Belleville. Here’s hoping that the next 200 years will be racism and lynch-free. Email: jtingram_1960@ yahoo.com or follow at Twitter@JamesTIngram.

James Ingram

NEWSPAPER IN EDUCATION

Planting

Exercise

Nutrition Challenge:

SAINT LOUIS SCIENCE CENTER

Yogurt is a healthy food powerhouse. It is a great source of calcium, vitamins A and D, potassium and protein. Greek yogurt is usually the highest in protein.

Yogurt is also a great way to regulate your digestive system. It contains “good” bacteria called probiotics that can

Now that we’ve all turned our clocks forward an hour, we’ll have more daylight in the evenings.

Use that extra hour to increase your outdoor playtime. As it stays lighter later and later, you

We specialize in making science fun!

Take advantage of the many teacher programs we offer at the Zoo to supplement your students’ classroom experience. The Zoo Outreach Program offers instructors who can bring live animals to YOUR classroom. We offer a variety of teacher kits you can check out, and we offer other resources (videos, books, etc.) FREE for you from our library. We even designed a cool poster you can hang in the classroom!

Harry’s Big Adventure:

Harry’s Big Adventure:

Investigate and explore over 700 interactive exhibits and take in a film on one of the world’s largest domed screens in our OMNIMAX® Theater. Come, play and exercise your brain! General admission is always free. slsc.org/nie3

My Bug World! presented by Terminix® is a multisensory experience that immerses you into the world of bugs. Harry the Chinese Praying Mantis and his bug friends will lead you through freestanding and interactive habitats in a hands-on, fun way!

My Bug World! presented by Terminix® is a multisensory experience that immerses you into the world of bugs. Harry the Chinese Praying Mantis and his bug friends will lead you through freestanding and interactive habitats in a hands-on, fun way!

Harry’s Big Adventure: My Bug World! presented by Terminix® is a multisensory experience that immerses you into the world of bugs. Harry the Chinese Praying Mantis and his bug friends will lead you through freestanding and interactive habitats in a hands-on, fun way!

slsc.org/hbanie1

slsc.org/hbanie2

slsc.org/hbanie4

We’re here to help you succeed, and there are even scholarships available. Just visit stlzoo.org/teachers or call us at (314) 646-4544 to learn more.

PRESENT:

Healthy Kids Kids

help your stomach and intestines work better.

If you’ve ever been constipated or had diarrhea, you know how uncomfortable it can be when your digestion isn’t working properly.

can take advantage of this extra time to get plenty of exercise.

Here’s a fun way to do just that. Pay attention to what time the street lights come on tonight. Now each night after that see how much later they

What is diversity? As a class, discuss what you think it means. Is it the differences in how we look or act? Is it the differences in where we live, work or go to school? Break into small groups and create

How to “sneak” yogurt into your diet:

> Substitute your usual sour cream with plain Greek yogurt.

> Use plain yogurt as a dip for celery or carrots.

> Mix vanilla yogurt, fruit and granola into a tasty breakfast parfait.

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

come on. Make it a goal to add that much time to your outdoor active play. With the warmer weather and increased daylight, there’s no excuse to not get in at least 30 minutes of exercise every day. Why not try for a goal of 60 minutes at least 4 days per week? You’ll look and feel better!

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

two lists: what everyone in the group has in common and what are the differences. Is it bad to be different? What are some advantages to being around people that are different than you?

Learning Standards: HPE 2, NH 2, NH 4

Where do you work? I work at St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Where did you go to school? I graduated from McCluer Senior High School and received my BSN from Chamberlain College of Nursing.

What does an answer line staff nurse do? I teach parents about asthma, fevers and vaccines and help parents keep their kids safe and healthy.

Why did you choose this career? I always wanted to help people. When I was a little girl I loved to go to the doctor and watch the nurse.

What is your favorite part of the job you have? I enjoy being a part of keeping children safe and helping their parents know how best to care for their children.

Learning Standards: HPE 6, NH 3

Fitness Challenge: Go to http://www.stlamerican. com/newspaper_in_education/ and download our Weekly Fitness Challenge Journal page. Keep track of your positive daily health choices and earn rewards!

CLASSROOM SPOTLIGHT

Walnut Grove Elementary School 3rd grade teacher

Ms. Storms with students Larry Alderson, Janiya Thomas, Angelina Moeller, and Grace Geer work on a science project for their STEM lesson. The school is in the Ferg/Flor School District. Photo: Wiley Price / St. Louis American

SCIENCE STARS

AFRICAN-AMERICAN CHEF AND INVENTOR: George Crum

George Crum was born as George Speck in 1822 in Saratoga Lake, New York. His father was African American and his mother a member of the Native American Huron tribe. His father used the name “Crum” in his career as a jockey and George Speck adopted “Crum” as his last name. When he was young, Crum worked as a guide in the Adirondack Mountains and learned that he had a natural talent in the culinary arts.

SCIENCE CORNER Potatoes And Nutrition!

Potatoes are a vegetable, a complex carbohydrate that provides your body with energy. According to myplate. gov, a 5.3 ounce medium-sized potato with the skin contains 45% of the daily value of vitamin C, 620 mg of potassium (comparable to bananas, spinach, and broccoli), 10% of the daily value of B6, and trace amounts of thiamine, riboflavin, folate, magnesium, phosphorous, iron, and zinc. In 2011, The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that meals that contained potatoes were significantly higher in potassium, fiber, and vitamin C. Potatoes contain antioxidants and are the largest and most affordable source of potassium and vitamin C in the produce department. However, to enjoy these nutrients you must eat the skin— that’s where 20% of the potato’s nutrition is found.

SCIENCE EXPERIMENT

Purpose: In this experiment you will study how light affects the direction of growth in a plant.

Materials Needed:

Shooting Potato (one that has little white shoots growing out of it)

• Box with Lid • Scissors • Rocks

Process:

q Cut a small coin-size hole in the short end of the box.

w Put a handful of potting mix in the corner of the box opposite the hole you made.

e Lay the potato in the soil.

r Create “obstacles” by placing rocks in the box with the potato.

t Put the lid on the box and place it in an area with a lot of light.

q Studies show that Americans eat 1.2 billion pounds of potato chips per year. How many pounds are consumed per day? _________ per month? _______ per week? ________

w If it takes 1,000 pounds of potatoes to make 350 pounds of potato chips, how many pounds does it take to make the 1.2 billion pounds of potato chips consumed in a year? _________ Using this statistic, how many pounds of potatoes does it take to make one pound of potato chips? _______

e Survey your classmates to determine

Many people believe that potatoes are fattening and should be avoided to lose weight. That is not true. Without any added fat, a medium potato has 100 calories, and no fat, sodium, or cholesterol. In 2010, the University of California released research that demonstrated that people that included potatoes in their diet still lost weight. Overall diet quality is improved when adults and children consume non-fried potatoes. Healthier options include topping a baked potato with salsa, steamed vegetables, low-fat sour cream, or Greek yogurt. You can add flavor to mashed potatoes by using chicken broth instead of butter. Potatoes can also be roasted with garlic, olive oil, and herbs. They are a very versatile food. Read More About Potatoes Here: http://science. howstuffworks.com/life/botany/potato-info.htm.

Learning Standards: I can read nonfiction text to find main idea and supporting details.

y Check the growth once a week for 4 weeks.

Analyze: Plants grow toward the light. How will the obstacles affect the growth of the plant? Will the shoots still be able to grow towards the light? Want to Learn the Science Behind A Crisp Potato? Try this experiment at home: http://www.sciencebuddies. org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/ FoodSci_p042.shtml.

Learning Standards: I can follow procedures to complete an experiment. I can analyze results.

the most popular flavor of potato chip. Create a bar graph to display your results. r 1 ounce of potato chips has about 110 calories and 10 grams of fat. If you buy a bag of chips that is 8 ounces, how many servings are in the bag? ______ How many calories are in the bag? ________ How many grams of fat are in the entire bag? __________

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

He sought work as a chef and found employment at Saratoga Springs’ Moon Lake Lodge resort in the summer of 1853. A popular menu item was French fried potatoes. Crum had a guest complain that the potatoes were cut too thick and sent them back to the kitchen. In response, Crum cut the potato as thin as he could and fried it in grease until it was crispy. Surprisingly, the guest loved the crisps and other guests requested to have them, too. “Saratoga Chips” were soon added as a regular menu item. Seven years later, Crum opened his own restaurant, “Crumbs House,” near Saratoga Lake, which featured a basket of potato chips on every table. In 1890, Crum closed his restaurant and he died in 1914 at the age of 92.

He never sought a patent for his potato chips, but the popularity soon caught on.

A man named William Tappendon began making potato chips to sell to grocery stores in 1895. In 1926, Laura Scudder designed the “bag of chips” by placing potato chips in wax paper bags. Six years later, Herman Lay founded Lay’s chips in Nashville, Tennessee, and was the first successfully marketed brand of potato chips. Today, they are still a favorite American snack food, with sales over $6 billion per year.

Learning Standards: I can read a biography of a person who has contributed to the field of math, science, and technology.

MAP CORNER

Use the newspaper to complete these activities to sharpen your skills for the MAP test.

Activity One —

Health Article: Potatoes are a very healthy food. Find a news article about health.

Summarize the article to include who, what, when, where, why and how in the article.

Activity Two — Medical/ Health Professional Job Listings: Look in the classified ads of your newspaper and find job listings for medical/ health professionals. What is the median pay range? What are the job requirements? Education requirements? Benefits? Opportunities for advancement?

Learning Standards: I can use a newspaper to locate information. I can summarize important information.

Art McCoy resigns

District says both parties agreed dispute was not ‘racially motivated’

American staff

Art McCoy Jr. has resigned as superintendent of the FergusonFlorissant School District, effective immediately, according to a press release sent out by the district at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.

“It is mutually agreed and understood that full resolution of these matters is in the best interests of the Ferguson-Florissant School District,” the district release stated. “To those who have framed the issues as racially motivated, the parties are satisfied that each acted in good faith and with the best interests

of the Ferguson-Florissant School District in mind.”

McCoy said he resigned pursuant to a separation agreement to “settle all claims with the current board,” according to a statement from McCoy. The terms of any agreement between the district and McCoy were not disclosed. His salary was $217,000. “I thank all of those who have supported me over the past six years,” McCoy stated.

Art McCoy Jr.

On Nov. 6, 2013, six school board members voted to place McCoy on administrative leave because of “differences in focus and philosophy between the board and the superintendent,” the board stated at the time.

Many citizens, clergy and

parents immediately called the board’s explanation “weak” and “irresponsible.” Students and community members have held several protests since the board’s action. In July 2011, McCoy became the district’s first African-American superintendent, as well as one of the youngest superintendents in the state at 33. McCoy, a St. Louis native, started teaching at age 19 and became one of the state’s youngest certified teachers.

McCoy was the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2013 Stellar Performer in Education.

The Ferguson-Florissant School District serves more than 11,000 students. The student population is about 78 percent African-American, and five percent of black students drop out of school, a relatively low number for a predominately black district.

Major Brands reps Black Rep

On February 14, Major Brands sponsored the “Laugh and Lyrics Concert” at 560 Trinity Cultural Center to raise funds for The Black Rep’s educational programs and main stage productions, which reach over 25,000 elementary and secondary students in the St. Louis area. Actress and comedian Phyllis Yvonne Stickney and singer Chuck Flowers were the headliners. Left to right: Irretta Williams, Ron Himes of the Black Rep, Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, Chuck Flowers, Heather Himes and Elson Williams of Major Brands.

The Dan Scott saga

You probably would have never heard about Dan Scott had it not been for a rare and heavy-handed move by Alderman Joe Roddy and the St. Louis courts. The story has gone national as yet another sad example of how this city chooses to deal with race relations.

After Scott’s arrest in May 2012, Judge Michael Stelzer set bail at $10,000 cash, gave Scott a curfew and ordered that he wear an ankle bracelet. Scott was charged with five counts of harassment and two counts of obstructing government operations and faced up to six years of prison.

While waiting for his trial, he was banned from his home, youth programs and rental property – all are located in the Forest Park Southeast (FPSE) neighborhood – for 17 months. This act was designed to kill his spirit, destroy his livelihood and criminalize him.

Scott has not been able to save all his youth from the violence of the streets, but many have grown up, steered clear of the criminal justice system and graduated from high school; some have even gone onto college.

The crux of Scott’s real crime seems to be his unorthodox youth programs that attract black youth, especially males. A native St. Louisan, Scott move into his current neighborhood some 17 years ago during the height of gangs and the crack cocaine epidemic. With his own meager resources, Scott reached out to youth to teach them marketable skills. His crimes are passing on his skills and talents to misguided youth in a neighborhood that was barren in programs and services for teens.

In addition to being a rehabber, Scott is also a seasoned chess player and boxer. His youth “complex” includes a community garden, a boxing gym, a library and hang-out space. Scott owns five pieces of property in FPSE and once headed up the neighborhood association. When one of his kids made the Junior Olympics in boxing and didn’t have the funds to travel, area businesses kicked in.

As the FPSE neighborhood began to gentrify, Scott began to sharply raise issues about how public funds were being used and how long-time residents were being locked out from the progress. He quickly went from hero to villain to a criminal. The one misdemeanor charge that Scott was convicted of recently was one count of harassment based on an encounter with artist Grace McCammond. McCammond, who is white, received a contract with Washington University to paint fire hydrants in the area. Scott asked if his kids could do the prep work for $5 a hydrant. The encounter in front of Sweetie Pie’s Restaurant made her “frightened and fearful of her safety.” When whites feel threatened, the outcomes for black people are not good.

We must keep a watchful eye on this volatile situation. A year is a long time for someone on probation to avoid manufactured violations. We cannot allow Dan Scott to be isolated, and we must find ways to encourage his positive interaction with a community where he has invested considerable sweat, time and resources. For starters, someone needs to step up to pay for the anklet monitor he was forced to wear for 17 months at $8.50 a day and $30 a month for service fees. In the long term, this city must learn how to take the high road when faced with situations of race and class and not default to the plantation model that maintains inequality, segregation and discrimination on both the personal and institutional levels.

Guest Columnist Jamala Rogers

Business

Reliance Bank opens first city location

New

production

Alderwoman Marlene Davis.

American staff

Reliance Bank, a subsidiary of Reliance Bancshares, Inc., recently celebrated the grand opening of a new loan production office in the Justine Petersen building at 1021 North Grand Blvd.

Justine Petersen is a nonprofit organization that assists low-wealth individuals and families to develop, maintain and increase financial assets.

“As a bank that has emerged from the collapse of commercial

real estate, it is important to note that Reliance Bank has shared this positive impact with the community by opening a loan production office north of Delmar in the City of St. Louis,” said St. Louis NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt.

“This co-location and partnership with Justine Petersen will have a critical impact on the AfricanAmerican community with respect to accessing capital and credit.”

The office will be led by Community Development Officer Alonzo Shaw and will offer a complete range of lending products

including small business loans, consumer loans and mortgage loans. The location also houses a fullservice ATM on the east side of the building facing Grand Boulevard.

“This is our first facility located in the city of St. Louis and we are excited to partner with Justine Petersen to serve the midtown community,” said Allan D. Ivie, CEO of Reliance Bancshares, which is headquartered in St. Louis County.

The grand opening and ribbon cutting event had over 150 in attendance including 19th Ward

Ball for justice

Richard Banks (Banks & Associates), Larissa Steele, Evander Holyfield (former heavyweight champion), Shevon Harris (The Harris Law Firm), Dana Tucker (Fox Galvin) and Ron Redwing supported Legal Services of Eastern Missouri’s 24th Annual Justice For All Ball on Saturday, February 22 at the Chase Park Plaza Hotel. Nearly 700 people attended the ball, with all proceeds helping LSEM advance its mission of providing high-quality legal assistance and equal access to justice for the low-income community.

enrollment continues to rise

“You still have time to get covered,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, “but you’ll want to sign up today – the deadline is March 31.”

“We welcome Reliance Bank to our community and to the city of St. Louis,” Davis said. “It is so important to have as much access to banking resources that are needed to give residents and businesses options to banking and lending.”

Robert Boyle, CEO of Justine Petersen, said the partnership marks a cultural exchange between the nonprofit lending institution and Reliance Bank.

New venture after the NAACP

Benjamin Jealous joins Kapor Center for Social Impact in Silicon Valley

By Bridjes O’Neil Of The St. Louis American

Benjamin Jealous

“As we seek individually and institutionally to meet the challenges before us, we naturally seek to learn from those who have experiences, perspectives and backgrounds different from our own – perspectives that inform and challenge us,” said Elizabeth Stroble, president of Webster University. Stroble was welcoming to campus Benjamin Jealous, who until recently was president and CEO of the NAACP and has since joined the Oakland, Calif.-based Kapor Center for Social Impact as its first venture partner. Jealous announced his resignation

Kelvin Adams is one of 16 districtlevel leaders recognized by Education Week in its second annual “Leaders To Learn From” report. Adams is the superintendent of St. Louis Public Schools. These education leaders –representing urban, suburban, and rural districts across the country – were selected in a process that generated more than 900 nominees from readers, members of the Education Writers Association, and state and national education groups.

Kendra Holmes is the new vice president of Clinical Integration and Ancillary Services for Grace Hill Health Centers, Inc. She has been director of Pharmacy and Radiology Services since 2004. While continuing to oversee pharmacy and radiology services, she will also assume administrative responsibility for lab services. She will spearhead an initiative to integrate care across various medical, dental and behavioral health systems and services.

Kevin Sullivan has joined Edward Jones Investments as a financial advisor. Prior to moving into his downtown office at 200 N. Broadway suite 135, he worked in the Edward Jones home office as part of a team of advisors that collectively managed just under $1 billion in assets from branch offices across the country. He holds an MBA and a bachelor’s in business administration from Lincoln University.

Marjorie Melton was elected as chair of the U.S. Green Building Council –Missouri Gateway Chapter’s board of directors. Melton, president of M3 Engineering Group, has more than 30 years of experience in environmental engineering and project management. She served on the board of directors for three years prior to her election as chair. She also serves on the chapter’s Advocacy Committee, Speakers Bureau and Social Justice and Scholarship task forces.

Harry Moppins has been elected as secretary of the St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers. The St. Louis Council of Construction Consumers is the owner organization promoting the region through collaborative leadership to improve the efficient delivery of construction projects. According to the council, it “provides education, shares next practices and advocates change to achieve a competitive marketplace.”

Mary Armstrong is one of 16 districtlevel leaders recognized by Education Week in its second annual “Leaders To Learn From” report. Armstrong is the president of the St. Louis Teacher’s Union. These education leaders –representing urban, suburban, and rural districts across the country – were selected in a process that generated more than 900 nominees.

Photo by Wiley Price

Kendra Holmes Kevin Sullivan

Marjorie Melton

Harry Moppins

Mary Armstrong

Business Briefs

Monsanto awards $750K to Tuskegee for biotech laboratories

The Tuskegee University College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences received $1.5 million to add research laboratories to the newly constructed Henderson Hall. The funds will be used to build plant biotechnology research laboratories.

The Monsanto Company awarded $750,000 toward the project and the United States Department of Agriculture provided $750,000 in matching funds.

“These labs will provide unlimited educational opportunities in plant science for our world’s next generation of researchers and biologists,” said Robb Fraley, Monsanto’s chief technology officer.

First Bank invests $150K in Justine Petersen micro-lending program

To boost small business lending in select Missouri and Illinois counties, First Bank has invested $150,000 in the Justine Petersen micro-lending program.

Based in St. Louis, Justine Petersen wholly owns and operates a Community Development Financial Institution that provides loans and technical assistance to small businesses that don’t have access to commercial or conventional loans.

First Bank is one of the largest privately owned banks in the country with more than $6.23 billion in assets and 130 locations in Missouri, California, Florida, and Illinois.

Symphony

extends David Robertson’s contract as music director

Last week the St. Louis Symphony announced the extension of David Robertson’s contract as music director. Robertson, currently in his ninth season with the orchestra, will remain as music director in St. Louis through the 2017-2018 season.

“The symphony musicians’ extraordinary stylistic versatility, their passion and commitment to music making, and their basic human warmth make this a unique ensemble,” Robertson said. “I constantly feel enriched and inspired by them, whether on stage at Powell Hall, in concert halls around the world, or through their extensive community and education activities in St. Louis.”

Missouri Foundation for Health accepting applications for mini-grants

The Missouri Foundation for Health (MFH) is accepting applications for mini-grants of up to $10,000 by health-related, non-profit organizations to initiate small, short-term projects designed to improve the health of their communities. Funding is available for projects of up to 12-months in the MFH region and is not renewable or expendable. Smaller agencies meeting MFH guidelines are encouraged to apply. For more information, visit https://www.mffh.org.

Personal finance

Money-saving tips for seniors

By Jason Alderman

We all love a good bargain, no matter what our age. But if you’re a senior citizen on a fixed income, finding discounted goods and services can mean the difference between making ends meet and going without.

The good news is that tons of senior discounts are available – often for people as young as 50. One caveat right up front: Although many senior discounts are substantial, you sometimes can find better bargains –especially on travel-related expenses like airfare, hotels and rental cars. So always do your research first before requesting the senior rate.

Here’s a roundup of some of the best senior discounts I’ve found:

An AARP membership costs only $16 a year for anyone over age 50, including free membership for spouses or partners (www.aarp.org).

AARP’s discounts website features discounts on dozens of products and services including rental cars, hotels, restaurants, clothing and department store chains. AARP also offers an inexpensive driver safety course for drivers over 50 (members and nonmembers alike) that can lower auto insurance premiums by up to 10 percent or more.

Popular AARP discounts include:

• 20 percent discount on installation or upgrades to ADT home security systems.

• 45 percent off membership to Angie’s List.

• 20 percent off purchases from 1-800-FLOWERS.com.

• Up to 25 percent off car rentals from Avis and Budget.

• Up to 20 percent discount at many hotel chains including Hyatt, Hilton, Wyndham, Best Western, Days Inn and Ramada, among others.

• 10 to 20 percent off at many restaurant chains, including Claim Jumper, Denny’s and Outback Steakhouse.

• 15 percent off many Geek Squad services from Best Buy.

n SeniorDiscounts.com is an online directory of more than 220,000 U.S. business locations that offer discounts to people over 50.

• A free 45-minute consultation with an Allstate Legal Services Network attorney, as well as 20 percent off member attorneys’ fees.

A quick Google search will uncover numerous

other senior discount resources. One popular site is SeniorDiscounts.com, an online directory of more than 220,000 U.S. business locations that offer discounts to people over 50. Registration is free, although they also offer a $12.95/ year premium that offers members-only discounts and other perks. Other good sites include Brad’s Deals, Sciddy.com and Savvy Senior. Other commonly available senior discounts include:

• A 15 percent discount on the lowest available rail fare on most Amtrak trains for travelers over age 62.

• Greyhound offers a 5 percent discount on

unrestricted fares (over 62).

• Southwest Airlines offers senior fares (over 65). Although not necessarily their lowest available rates, Southwest’s senior fares are fully refundable.

• The U.S. Geologic Survey senior pass (over 62) provides free lifetime access to more than 2,000 governmentmanaged recreational sites (including national parks), as well as discounts on camping and other amenities. Senior passes cost $10 in person or $20 by mail (http://store.usgs. gov/pass/senior.html).

• Verizon Wireless offers discounted mobile phone service for subscribers over 65.

• Both Walgreens and Rite Aid offer monthly senior discount days for members of their rewards programs when most non-prescription items are 15 to 20 percent off. Ask your neighborhood pharmacy if they offer similar programs. In addition, many restaurants, department stores, movie theaters, museums, theme parks, banks, credit card issuers, utilities (including gas and electric, water, garbage, telephone and cable) and other businesses offer special discounts or promotions for seniors. Always ask before your purchase is rung up. Bottom line: Abundant resources are available to help seniors save money on purchases large and small. You just have to do a little research – and ask whether senior discounts are available. Remember, 10 percent here and 20 percent there can really add up.

Jason Alderman directs Visa’s financial education programs. To participate in a free, online Financial Literacy and Education Summit on April 2, 2014, go to www. practicalmoneyskills.com/ summit2014.

“I like Phil Jackson, but the Knicks need to worry about getting better players.”

– Charles Barkley, when asked about the Knicks hiring coaching legend Phil Jackson for their front office

Sports

InsIde sports

With Earl Austin Jr.

Saturday, the 1994

basketball team, along with Coach Carl Davis, will be celebrated at halftime of the girls’ Class 2 state championship game to commemorate the 20th anniversary of their state

One of my favorite high school teams to cover during my 27-year career in sports reporting was the 1994 Wellston High girls basketball team.

It was a special team to follow and become attached to. They had a superstar player, a talented supporting cast and several key role players who did their job to help the team. The Trojanettes rode all of these elements to the Missouri Class 2A state championship in Columbia. Wellston defeated Warsaw by one point in a thrilling state final to complete a 29-1 season. At the controls of this team was head coach Carl Davis, who not only was a good coach, but a big brother and father figure to these talented young ladies. They were a treat to watch, and their ride to the state title was something special to see. This weekend, Davis and his girls (I mean, women) will be on the court together once again in Columbia, 20 years after their magic moment. Each year, the Missouri State High School Activities Association recognizes the 20-year anniversary of their state champions and Final Four participants.

said. “Some of these girls, I haven’t seen in years. All of them are coming and I look forward to seeing them all again. It’s going to be magical.”

That Wellston team was led by senior guard LaShonda Albert, a 6’1” guard who was one of the best high school players ever produced in the state of Missouri. Albert could do it all. And she did it with style and flair. In a district final against Orchard Farm, Albert scored 60 points and had 13 rebounds. In three quarters. She averaged nearly 30 points a game during the ’94 season. Leading the supporting cast was her younger sister, Tanisha Albert, a 5’9” sophomore who averaged close to 20 points a game. Tanisha was a tenacious competitor who could get buckets, rebound and handle the ball.

The rest of the starting lineup included Bertha Williams, Tyresa Robinson and Latoya Watson. One of the top

– Coach Carl Davis

On Saturday, the ’94 Wellston team will be celebrated at halftime of the girls’ Class 2 state championship game.

“It is going to be amazing,” Davis

The NBA has taken shots in recent years about becoming too soft. Legends such as Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and Kobe Bryant have lamented rules changes that call for ejections, suspensions and fines for hard fouls and scuffles.

Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat wants to literally fight back against that soft image. In a recent interview with ESPN’s TrueHoop blog, Gortat suggested the NBA become more like the NHL and allow players to settle on-court beefs the old fashioned way: fisticuffs.

“I would say I would loosen up a little bit the rules about the fighting fines,” Gortat said. “That’s what I would loosen up. Because today you go to an ice hockey game, and the one thing they’re waiting for is a fight… Quick, 15-20 seconds, throw few punches, then referees jump in and break this thing up … But end of the day, they fix the problem between each other, fans are super excited, and I think that would be a pretty cool idea [chuckles].”

Of course Gortat’s suggestion was said tongue-in-cheek. The son of a

Rams eye free agent market

Wellston High girls

title.

By Tyler Gilyard

For The St. Louis American

Tayler Miller is a multitalented and outgoing senior at Metro Academic and Classical High School. A scholar athlete, she plays both volleyball and basketball while keeping a 3.2 grade point average.

Tayler Miller of Metro

‘I wanted to try everything’

something wrong,” she said, while describing a challenge she faced.

It was one game against Roosevelt High School during her freshman year when she realized how serious basketball could be.

Growing up, she was not a stranger to sports. Her basketball career began at age 5.

“I didn’t really see myself as an athlete,” Miller said. “I just knew that my entire family had played something, so it was like a family tradition to do so. I never really had a choice on the matter. I just did it.”

She was also an honor roll student and basketball player at McKinley Classical Leadership Middle School. Her IQ was judged to be 129. When she became a freshman at Metro Academic and Classical High School, she started venturing off into playing other sports.

“The first game of the season, I had an ankle injury,” she said. “I was coming from a layup and landed on the opponent’s foot. It was really painful.”

Instead of giving up on her team and sitting out, she continued to play.

n “I receive a lot of pressure from my teachers and administrators. Sometimes even my parents too.”

– Tayler Miller

“I made the varsity team as a freshman on volleyball,” she said. “I ran track too. I wanted to try everything.” Miller didn’t start off as a scholar athlete. Instead, she had to work her way into earning the title.

“I receive a lot of pressure from my teachers and administrators,” she said. “Sometimes even my parents too.” In fact her father, Terrence Miller, is a parent-helper for the team.

“They all want me to exceed the standard in both academics and sports,” Tayler Miller said.

“That is exactly what I set out to do.”

That is precisely what she did.

“I would have to say my proudest moment was when I scored my 1000th point in basketball,” she said. “Most people do it their senior year, and I scored mine in my junior year.”

While there are highs, there are lows.

“Being held at such a high standard, it hurt when I did

“We won that game, and I was really happy,” she said. “When I got to the locker room, I realized once again that I was in pain.”

For the rest of that week, she had to sit out. Since her family members were involved in sports themselves and supported her as an athlete, she used them as her motivation.

“I remember being a kid and going to both my brother’s and sister’s basketball games and practices and watching them play,” she said. “It was inspiring. It made me want to be like them.”

Time management is her key to success, she said. She explains that is how she balance her education and athletic career.

“Sometimes you find yourself sacrificing one, whether it be missing practice to finish a paper or losing a few hours of sleep because I went to practice or had a tournament,” she said. “It can be stressful, but it has to be done.”

Miller’s love for basketball and sports goes beyond the court.

“I’ve been recruited by a few schools, but I’m still applying,” she said. “I want to major in sports management in college and minor in business. I’ll also be playing too. My main goal is to continue to be healthy and in shape. I’ll play basketball for as long as I can.”

Tyler Gilyard is a St. Louis Public Schools intern at The St. Louis American

CLUTCH

Continued from B3

Undercard Fight: Reggie Evans vs Metta World Peace

Neither of these guys are NBA superstars, though World Peace might have been during his prime. In fact, World Peace isn’t currently on an active roster after being released by the New York Knicks. Still, as far as gritty, grimy NBA fights go, there’s none better than here. Evans was voted the dirtiest player in the league by his peers in 2012. The 6’8” 245 lb. rebounding specialist is known for getting down and dirty in the paint. How

dirty is he? He once grabbed and tugged on Chris Kamen’s private parts to try to get to a rebound. On the other side, World Peace certainly needs no introduction. The man formerly known as Ron Artest was the center of the “Malice in the Palace” brawl in Indiana that ushered in a lot of the softer rules in the NBA. He also famously elbowed James Harden in the face during the 2012 playoffs and has given many NBA players nightmares due to his bruising style of play. If

nobody is willing to sign MWP to a 10-day contract for this brawl to happen, Kevin Garnett will gladly take his place.

n In hockey, brawlers are celebrated as enforcers and tough guys. In the NBA or NFL, they are considered thugs and animals.

Co-Main Event: Nate Robinson vs Hasheem Thabeet

OK, I’ll admit this fight was selected purely for its novelty.

The smallest guy in the NBA (well, Robinson is tied with the Kings’ Isaiah Thomas at just 5’9”) versus the tallest. Thabeet would get the chance to bury the talks of being a “bust” for a day by busting up a man a foot and a half shorter than he. Despite the massive height and reach differential, the fast and explosive Robinson would probably be the odds on betting favorite. We know the former slam dunk champion has the hops to get in headshots at will. He’s fast enough to make Thabeet dizzy. Plus Robinson is more experienced after skirmishes with the likes of J.R. Smith, C.J. Watson and Steven Adams.

Main Event: LeBron James vs Kobe Bryant

I thought about putting Kevin Durant here, but there’s

something about a guy who wants to be called “The Servant” that makes it clear he’s not interested in a scrap. While James has undoubtedly surpassed Bryant as the best player in the league, don’t think the Black Mamba wouldn’t relish the opportunity to get some payback for relinquishing his crown. Bryant may not be healthy enough for basketball, but he’s good for a 15-20 sec scrap at center court. Plus, I’m sure Bryant wouldn’t want his fighting legacy to be that twopiece he was served by Chris Childs back in the day. Finding a favorite is difficult. King James is the more physically gifted specimen. He’s taller, stronger and quicker at this point in their careers. However Bryant is still seen as the more gritty, grimy, do-anything-to-win type of competitor. James would play by the rules and use his superior skills and carefully crafted boxing technique. Meanwhile Bryant would be the NBA’s version of Bernard Hopkins, sneaking in low blows, elbows and anything else to rough up his younger and more athletically-gifted opponent. Who wins? Sadly, we’ll never know.

Follow Ishmael Sistrunk and In the Clutch on Twitter @IshmaelSistrunk and on Google+.

at

Tayler Miller of Metro Academic and Classical High School takes a jumper against the Lady Cougars of Carnahan High School.

Photo by Wiley Price

Jamming in the playoffs

RAMS

Rumor is the Rams may cut guard Harvey Dahl and that would put the Rams $15 million under the salary cap. NBCSports.com reported the Rams have interest in left tackle Jared Veldeen, who recently played for the Oakland Raiders and is still young at 26. If so, the Rams would essentially swap tackles with the Raiders who signed Rodger Saffold to what ESPN reported was a $42.5 million contract for five years with $21 million guaranteed. While with the Rams, Saffold played both right and left tackle, as well as right guard, but missed 17 games due to injuries.

Strong safety Jarius Byrd (Buffalo Bills) is also on the

Continued from B3

n Should the Rams spend money during free agency, I’d like to see it at the wide receiver position.

Rams’ radar. Other options at that position are T.J. Ward (Cleveland Browns) and Donte Whitner (San Francisco 49ers). Cornerbacks Aquib Taleb (New England Patriots) and Brandon Browner (Seattle Seahawks) will still have a few suitors, despite recent history of offfield issues. Should the Rams spend money during free agency, I’d like to see it at the wide receiver position. This young and unproven group of players needs some veteran leadership in the worst way, such as James

Continued from B3 how his girls bonded as a team with no egos or personal agendas. “They were like sisters. They were close and they really got along,” Davis said. “This team was special to me because everyone played their role. Nobody tried to do anything that they could not do. That’s what made it a great team.” The only downer to the weekend is that I will not be able to be in Columbia to witness this wonderful reunion

Jones (Green Bay Packers), Jacoby Jones (Baltimore Ravens) and Jerricho Crotchery (Pittsburg Steelers). Before you dismiss Crotchery, he caught 10 touchdown passes last season on just 46 catches and was the only receiver to go over 1,000 yards with Brian Schottenheimer as offensive coordinator while playing for the New York Jets.

The Rams have to spend smart if they choose to fill a couple of important spots on the roster prior to the NFL Draft. Because what happens between now and the draft could provide a better understanding of what will happen when it’s time for the Rams to use or move their second pick.

For more St. Louis Rams Roundup, please subscribe to www.stlamerican/youtubevideo.

of my favorite all-time teams. They were a most enjoyable team to follow. I really appreciated Carl making me an honorary Trojan. I was honored by that gesture. Congratulations to Carl and the Wellston girls of ’94. Enjoy the weekend.

STL has two in Final Four

Madison Prep and Cardinal Ritter advance

By Earl Austin Jr. Of The St. Louis American

The St. Louis area will be well represented at this weekend’s Missouri Class 3 boys’ state basketball championships in Columbia.

Defending state champion Madison Prep and Cardinal Ritter advanced to this weekend’s Final Four with the possibility of meeting each other for the state championship on Saturday.

Madison Prep (27-4) will meet Barstow (25-2) in the first semifinal game at noon. Cardinal Ritter (24-5) will take on Strafford (26-4) at 1:40 p.m. in the other semifinal game. Both games will be played in the Hearnes Center this afternoon.

The two winners will meet for the state championship on Saturday at The Mizzou Arena at 4:30 p.m. The third-place game will be held on Friday at the Hearnes Center at 4:15 p.m.

Madison Prep will be trying to repeat as state champions under the direction of young coach Tony Irons, who is making his third consecutive

trip to the Final Four as a head coach. In 2012, Irons guided Imagine Prep to a third-place finish in the Class 4 state tournament.

The Bears have retooled their team after the graduation of stellar backcourt of Martavian Payne and Kevin Baker. This season, Irons mixed in a transfer post player, some holdover veterans and some talented freshman into a championship-level team.

Leading the way is 6’8” senior forward Arlando Cook, who is averaging 14 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks a game. The two holdover seniors are guards Anthony Lee and Terrell Herndon.

The 6’0” Lee is averaging 10 points a game while Herndon is averaging nearly six points a game. The Bears also start two very talented freshmen in 6’7” center Levi Stockard and 5’11” point guard Daniel “Peanut” Farris. Stockard is averaging eight points and eight rebounds a game while Farris is averaging eight points and nearly five assists game while running the show. Forward

Courtney Lewis, 6’5”, provides more depth inside. Cardinal Ritter (23-6) is back in the Final Four after a four-year absence, when they won the state championship in 2010 under the leadership of Hall of Fame coach Marvin Neals. The Lions are not a big team, but they are fast and explosive. They scored 88 points in the sectional playoff win against Montgomery County last Wednesday night. The Lions are led by 6’3” senior forward Sean Clancey, who is averaging 22 points and 6.5 rebounds a game. Clancey is an explosive athlete with an excellent mid-range offensive game. Junior Jahmourie Robinson is a smooth point guard who gets to the basket at will. He is averaging 13.5 points a game. Senior track and field star Charles Jones is also an excellent basketball player. The 6’3” Jones is averaging 11.8 points. Senior Jeff Jones is a defensive specialist while junior swingman Jah Kobe Womack provides instant offense off the bench.

Darius Austin

Cahokia – Boys Basketball

The 6’7” senior forward led the Comanches to the Illinois Class 3A regional championship at Althoff last week.

Austin scored 24 points to lead Cahokia past host Althoff in the championship game, including nine points in the fourth quarter. In the semifinals against Columbia, Austin had 30 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in a 84-56 victory over Columbia.

For the season, Austin is averaging 18.2 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 steals in leading Cahokia to a 22-8 record. He has signed with UMKC on a basketball scholarship.

Cahokia faced Centralia in the Class 3A Sectional playoffs at Highland on Tuesday night.

Marshawn Blackmon

Fort Zumwalt South – Boys Basketball

The 6’4” junior forward enjoyed two big games in leading the Bulldogs to the Class 5, District 6 championship at Fort Zumwalt East last week.

Blackmon had 24 points and 13 rebounds in the Bulldogs’ victory over Francis Howell Central in the semifinals. He was nine of 10 from the field and six for six from the free throw line. In the championship game, Blackmon had 14 points and a team high eight rebounds in South’s 55-54 victory over rival Fort Zumwalt North. For the season, Blackmon is averaging 16.6 points, 8.7 rebounds with 33 blocked shots. Fort Zumwalt South faced Troy in the Sectional playoffs on Wednesday night.

Photo by Wilma Slaughter

Senior forward Robin Thompson of MICDS slams home a one-handed alley-oop dunk against Westminster Christian during last week’s Missouri Class 4, District 4 playoffs at MICDS.

Affordable care and the self-employed

Sign up for health care coverage by March 31 to avoid penalty

By Patricia Brown-Dixon

For The St. Louis American

Patricia BrownDixon

The Affordable Care Act provides comprehensive health insurance reforms designed to ensure Americans have access to quality, affordable health care coverage, and with only a couple weeks to go during this open enrollment period, now is the time for selfemployed business owners to sign up for a plan.

As the Regional Administrator for the Region 7 area of Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Iowa of the Small Business Administration, my goal is to make sure small businesses in Eastern Missouri have the information they need about the Affordable Care Act to make informed decisions that are best for their businesses. With new Health Insurance Marketplaces (also referred to as Exchanges) open, self-employed business owners have more options than ever to find affordable health care coverage. Selfemployed individuals and other consumers can purchase private insurance coverage from a range of options and, depending on income and

RELIANCE

Continued from B1

residency, potentially qualify for additional subsidies like Medicaid or tax credits.

Coming up, there are some important dates self-employed business owners need to know if they want to sign up for coverage for this year.

For self-employed small business owners, open enrollment for 2014 coverage ends March 31, 2014. The

n There are some important dates selfemployed business owners need to know if they want to sign up for coverage for this year.

exception is if you have a qualifying life event that provides you with a special enrollment period such as marriage, divorce, birth or adoption of a child, or loss of a job.

The next Open Enrollment period is proposed to begin on November 15, 2014 for health insurance coverage that begins January 1, 2015. You can apply for Medicaid or CHIP at any time of the year.

Why enroll?

First, increased access to quality, affordable health care will make it easier for potential entrepreneurs to go out on their own instead of staying at larger firms simply because of “job lock” or the lack of access to

“In its relatively short cultural exchange period, a mere six quarters, Reliance Bank and Justine Petersen have significantly increased our respective double bottom lines with products and services that are impacting neighborhoods with investments in St. Louis city, St. Louis County and in Madison and St. Clair Counties in Illinois,” said Boyle. The announcement comes on the heels of Reliance Bank announcing a record profit of $6.57 million in 2013 after aggressively turning around the bank in 2012. Reliance Bancshares, Inc.’s total assets as of December 31, 2013 were approximately $1.02 billion. Also in attendance were Tom Brouster, chairman of Reliance Bancshares, Michael McMillan, president of the

JEALOUS

Continued from B1

as head of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization in September, after serving a five-year term. He is a fifth-generation member of the NAACP and was the youngest person to lead the organization.

Before taking questions from the diverse crowd assembled at the Loretto-Hilton Center for the Performing Arts, 130 Edgar Rd., Jealous spoke of the future of the NAACP. He said it was time for a female president and CEO to lead the male-dominated organization. Lorraine C. Miller was named interim president and CEO in October 2013 and is leading the NAACP now as it searches for Jealous’ successor.

“We are in the beginning of a century that in too many ways feels like the end of last century,” he said. “We need somebody who rather than try to re-live the ‘60s understands that we’re in a whole new territory.”

Jealous said the “inertia of white supremacy” will come to an end by 2043, when the nation becomes a majorityminority country. He spoke of remaining vigilant against “Latino exclusion” laws targeting illegal immigrants, which harbor a racist approach to law enforcement.

“If you’re stopped and requested by a police office to show proof of citizenship on probable cause, understand that the second-largest undocumented group is Canadians,” he said. “And no one’s pulling you over because you look like Justin Bieber.”

Dianne Perry, assistant secretary of the St. Louis County Branch of the NAACP,

affordable insurance outside of their current employment.

Additionally, small business owners have historically paid as much as 18 percent more for health care coverage than larger companies. The Affordable Care Act helps level the playing field, slows cost growth and, with consumer protections like insurance rate reviews and a ban on denying coverage for preexisting conditions in place, provides greater certainty that small business owners can access the coverage they need, when they need it.

Finally, if you don’t have health coverage in 2014, you may have to pay a penalty. You don’t have to pay the penalty if you enroll in a plan by March 31, 2014.

To find an insurance plan that meets your needs today, check out the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) insurance finder tool. By answering just a few simple questions, you’ll be able to locate health insurance plans in your state and explore whether there are local facilities in your area that provide free or reduced-cost health care.

To browse coverage options, assess potential subsidies and purchase your plan online through the individual marketplace, visit www. healthcare.gov.

Patricia Brown-Dixon is Region 7 administrator for the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Urban League or Metropolitan St. Louis and a Reliance Bank board member; Leonard Johnson, chief of staff for St. Louis Treasurer O. Jones; Mattie Moore, deputy director of U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill’s St. Louis office; Elisabeth Risch, St. Louis Equal Housing Community Reinvestment Alliance; Jennifer Tidwell, regional administrator for HUD; and James Hurd, St. Louis HUD Director.

held a “Support Trayvon’s Law” poster. Speaking from the audience, she expressed anger over the Michael Dunn verdict and asked Jealous to offer his insight.

Last month, a Jacksonville, Fla. jury deadlocked on a first-degree murder charge on Dunn for the killing of Jordan Davis. Dunn was convicted of attempted second degree murder for firing 10 shots into a vehicle of unarmed black teenagers. Dunn claimed selfdefense under Florida’s Stand Your Ground law, as did George Zimmerman, who was exonerated in the killing of Trayvon Martin.

“If you quiver because you’re a coward on the street and you have enough money to buy a gun,” Jealous said regarding Stand Your Ground laws, “you can shoot anybody you’re afraid of – that’s what this law says.”

Also speaking from the audience, William “Bill” Monroe gave a synopsis of a charter school proposal he intended to present to Stroble, requesting sponsorship from Webster University for the Harriet Tubman High School and Career Center. Monroe – an elected member of the St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education, which does not govern the district – also expressed uncertainty for children in failing North County school districts, like Normandy.

Jealous said more creative and pragmatic methods are needed to save more youth in an educational climate where segregation creates disadvantages and educational gaps among children. He said that charter schools should be community-based, public and not-for-profit. In terms of school vouchers, he said they de-stabilize schools “that are

mandated to serve everybody.”

As for his new venture in Silicon Valley with Kapor Center for Social Impact, Jealous told Hazel Trice Edney, “Very similar to my work at the NAACP, we’re working on multiple gaps simultaneously.”

He said the center has helped to fund technology that lowers the cost of telephone calls from inmates to their families; a hearing aid that costs only $75; technology that helps parents and children with bi-lingual education; and a way to send money home to another country without paying a 30 percent remittance fee.

Jealous previously brought digital progress to both the NAACP and the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA), of which The American is one of almost 200 member papers. Under his leadership, the NAACP’s mobile messaging base grew from 5,000 activists to 423,000 and from 175,000 email activists to 1.3 million. At the NNPA, which he led in the early years of the 21st century, he pushed publishers of member papers to add digital publishing on websites to their news services.

When Jealous left the NAACP last year, he said he would spend more time with his family and would work to start a political action committee (PAC). He said the Kapor Center will get “80 percent” of his time, while “20 percent will be continuing to build the PAC.” He told the Washington Post he intends for the PAC to serve as the equivalent of an Emily’s List (which supports women candidates) for “candidates of color.”

Follow this reporter on Twitter: @BridjesONeil.

Additional reporting by Hazel Trice Edney.

Ministry at the Cathedral

By Kenya Vaughn

Of The St. Louis American

the crown belongs to Mann for “Take Me to the King.” Gospel music’s most recent breakout star will return to St. Louis next Friday to headline Sounds of Praise at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, featuring St. Louis’ own God’s Chosen, Cheneta Jones,

“I’m

‘Golden’ soul

Photo by Lawrence Bryant

By Chris King Of The

honor Pioneers

Foundation, Inc. hosted a grand affair February 22 at the Renaissance Airport Hotel. It was a celebration for Black History Month and the 250th anniversary of the founding of St. Louis. The organizations honored St. Louis Pioneers in Leadership and Extraordinary AfricanAmerican Trailblazers of St.

“Variegation 28,” a monoprint by Michael Marshall, is one of ive pieces he has in

Photo by Lance Omar Thurman

a tobacco farmer, a factory worker in the Rust Belt, a Washington insider, a Silicon Valley billionaire, and others. 321 n. Tenth St., 63101. For more information, call (314) 436-3049.

Mon., Mar. 24, 6 p.m., Subterranean Books hosts author Bill Hilmann, author of The Old Neighborhood. The story of teenager Joe Walsh, the youngest in a large, mixed-race family living in Chicago. It is both a brutal tale of growing up tough in a mean city, and a beautiful harkening to the heartbreak of youth. 6275 Delmar Blvd., 63130. For more information, call (314) 862-6100.

Mon., Mar. 24, 7 p.m., Left Bank Books hosts author Tim Townsend, author of Mission at Nuremberg. Detailed, harrowing, and emotionally charged, “Mission at Nuremberg” is an inclusive new history of the Nuremberg trials as well as a nuanced reflection on the nature of morality and sin, the price of empathy, and the limits of forgiveness. The tale of St. Louis army chaplain Henry Gerecke,399 Euclid Ave., 63108. For more information, call (314) 367-6731.

Tues., Mar. 25, 4 p.m., A signing and discussion for Sexual Discretion: Black Masculinity and the Politics of Passing with Jeffrey Q. McCune Jr., Olin Library – Ginkgo Reading Room, Washington University.

Sat., Mar. 29, 12 noon, Damaged Goods: My Journey, book signing release party for author and domestic violence survivor Atara Estes, Queen of Sheba, 6665 Olive Blvd University City, MO. For more information, visit www. soundthealarmoutreach.com

Sat., April 5, 6 p.m., Metropolitan Artist Loft hosts a book release party for April Floyd, daughterin-law of the legendary blues singer and writer, Eddie Floyd has released her new novel entitled, Unique. Unique, April Floyd’s first novel, introduces the readers to sixyear-old Unique, a girl who has seen much more than her young eyes would betray. 500 N Grand Blvd., 63103. For more information, visit www. aprilfloydbooks.com.

Through April 3, An Activist Voice: The Art of Nanette Carter and Howardena Pindell. Instructional Resource Building, St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley Campus, 3400 Pershall Rd., 63135. For more information, call (314) 513-4861.

Through April 11, Art of Africa. Featuring over 100 pieces of beautifully crafted art and artifacts from the African continent, many made using wood indigenous to the areas of Africa in which they were created. The DeToye Student Gallery will feature the work of Liberty Middle School students. Edwardsville Art Center, 6165 Center Grove Rd., Edwardsville, IL. 62025. For more information, call (618) 655-0037.

Through April 12, 10th Street Gallery’s presentation of “Women in Textiles,” featuring 4 multi-talented women artists. Exhibit runs through April 12. 419 N. 10th Street. For more information, visit www.10thstreetgallery. com

Thurs., Mar. 27, 5 p.m., The Barnett on Washington presents The Vine and Canvas event. The event will feature a diverse collection of talented artists who will be displaying and discussing their work in a elegant Spanish mission environment. 3207 Washington Blvd., 63103. For more information, call (636) 448-1747.

Through Mar. 28, May Gallery presents Broken Roots: Illegal Immigration into the U.S. The dramatic reality of men, women and children making their way to the Mexico-US border in search of a better life is the theme of a photographic essay by José Hernández-

Claire. Sverdrup Building, Webster University, 8300 Big Bend Blvd., 63119. For more information, call (314) 2467673.

Through March 29, Regional Arts Commission presents Gallery Opening: Latinicidad. RAC brings the tradition and vibrant culture of Latin American Carnaval to Saint Louis with its Latinicidad exhibition. Exhibit will run through Mar. 29. 6128 Delmar Blvd., 63112. For more information, call (314) 863-5811.

Wed., April 2, 7 p.m., Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis presents Poetry Reading: Mary Jo Bang, Devin Johnston, and Carl Phillips. 3750 Washington Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit camstl.org.

Through May 18, The St. Louis University Museum of Art presents Tradition Redefined: The Larry and Brenda Thompson of African-American Art. The Thompson collection includes the work of notable artists, as well as those by artists who have been considered emerging, regional or lesser known and has typically not been recognized in the traditional narratives of African-American art. 3663 Lindell Blvd., 63108.

lectures

Thur., Mar. 13, 7 p.m., Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice presents From Abuse to Independence. Michelle Schiller-Baker, executive director of St. Martha’s Hall, and Bridget McDermott Flood, executive director of the Incarnate Word Foundation, will discuss the issue and present new ways to support victims of domestic violence through micro-lending services. Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Rd., 63117. For more information, call (314) 863-1247.

Sat., Mar. 15, 8 a.m., Building Bridges-Men Taking Stand Against Domestic Violence, Men’s Conference. Our focus is to bring awareness to ending domestic violence. Keynote Speaker-Pastor Jacob Washington & Guest speakers: Pastor Harry Stanford, Minister Dawon Gore, Apostle Gerald Higginbothan, Pastor Kenneth McClamb, Apostle Brian Pruitt. Come enjoy food, workshops, resources and prizes. Comfort Inn,12031 Lackland Rd., 63146. For more information, visit www. healmending.org.

Sun., Mar. 16, 12 p.m., Yummies Restaurant hosts St. Louis Women United Brunch. St. Louis Women United is a brunch series that Princess Stormm from Hot 104.1 has put together to build women empowerment. Come out and enjoy brunch with a wonderful keynote speaker and a panalist of St. Louis most elite women. 2800 Olive St., 63103.

Tues., Mar. 18, 11 a.m., The Multiplicity of Music and Dance on the Southern Plantation. Educator Katrina Thompson will discuss the history of slavery in the United States, and how music, song and dance were intertwined into every aspect of a slave’s life. William J. Harrison Education Center, 3140 Cass Ave., 63106.

Tues., Mar. 18, 1 p.m., Contemporary Issues. Come meet Michael McMillan, President and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, as we discuss provocative issues that will expand your understanding of contemporary society. Clayton OASIS, 50 Gay Ave., 63105. For more information or to register, call (314) 862-4859.

Wed., Mar. 19, 12 p.m., The Courageous Women of Africa. This Women’s History Month event features a movie and discussion concerning Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the president of Liberia. Social Sciences Building, St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley Campus, 3400 Pershall Rd., 63135. For more information, call (314) 5134861.

Thur., Mar. 20, 7 p.m., From Ring Shout to Twerking:

The Historical and Cultural Context of Black Female Sexuality in Dance. Educator Kartina Thompson will speak on dance as a cultural signifier that played starkly different roles in the societies of West African and Western Europe during the era of slavery. St. Louis Community College, Forest Park Campus, 5600 Oakland Ave., 63110. For more information, call (314) 644-9100.

Thurs., Mar. 20, 7:30 p.m., Touhill Performing Arts Center presents Michele Norris: Eavsedropping on America’s Conversation on Race. Award-winning

Touhill Performing Arts Center presents Michele Norris: Eavsedropping on America’s Conversation on Race. For more information, see LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS.

journalist Michele Norris is one of the most recognized voices in radio. One University Dr., 63121.

Fri., Mar. 21, 12 p.m., Prostitots and Kinderwhores: Understanding and Responding to the Sexualization of Girls. This Women’s History Month event features a discussion about the trend in Western culture to sexualize girls and young women, especially through consumer products and social media. Training Center, St. Louis Community College, Florissant Valley Campus, 3400 Pershall Rd., 63135. For more information, call (314) 513-4337.

Thur., Mar. 27, 6:30 p.m., FAFSA Frenzy. Families will be able to complete the 2014-15 FAFSA on site and obtain valuable informations. Scholarships will be drawn for students attending the events in Missouri. Winners will receive their cholarships upon receipt of enrollment verification for the 2014 fall semester at a Missouri postsecondary institution. St. Louis Community College, Wildwood Campus, 2645 Generations Dr., 63040. For more information, call Katie Martin at (636) 422-2000.

health

Thurs., Mar. 20, 3 p.m., Small Business Majority presents Affordable Care Act Options and Enrollment.

SBM has a Missouri grantfunded charter to educate small business owners on their options with the Affordable Care Act. ACA has two marketplaces relevant to small businesses: the Small Health Options Program (SHOP) and Missouri Health Insurance Marketplace. Paula Hughes, Certified Application Counselor with SBM, will present a two-part seminar on the Affordable Care Act. The first part (from 3-4 pm) will cover Options for Business Owners and employees of companies without companysponsored insurance. The second part (from 4-5 pm) will offer attendees assistance in enrolling from certified application counselors. IT Enterprises, 4633 World Pkwy Cir., 63134.

Thurs., April 3, 1 p.m., Kirkwood Community

Center hosts Better Choices, Better Health® – Diabetes. This evidence-based workshop is free to any adult with type 2 diabetes. It is offered as part of a research study conducted by Stanford University and funded by the National Council on Aging. 111 S Geyer Rd., 63122. For more information, call 1-855-805-6168 or visit www.oasisnet.org.

Sat., April 5, 9 a.m., Tower Grove Park hosts Sprint for Skin Cancer 5K Run/3K Walk. Please join efforts to raise money for skin cancer research by participating. For more information about the raffle, with a grand prize valued at $1,000, and other information, visit www.spots. wustl.edu.

spiritual

Fri., Mar. 21, 7 p.m., The Scottish Rite Cathedral presents Sounds of Praise featuring Tamela Mann. 3633 Lindell Blvd., 63108. For more information, visit www. metrotix.com.

Sat., Mar. 22, 9 a.m., St. Louis Airport Marriott Hotel hosts Independent Christian Author Book Fair. This fair has hopes to draw every Christian writer of every denomination and faith in the areas of iction, non-iction, self-help and children’s books. 10700 Pear Tree Ln., 63134.

Sun., Apr. 13, 11 a.m., Blessed Hope MB Church hosts a Sunday Brunch, Savoy Banquet Center. For more information, Call (314) 600-3099.

Remembering Trebor Tichenor

Ragtime pianist and scholar from St. Louis

By Camille Phillips

Of St. Louis Public Radio

Ragtime pianist and scholar

Trebor Tichenor passed away last month after a stroke. He was 74. Longtime St. Louis Public Radio listeners may remember his weekly program “Ragophile” that aired on the station in the 1970s and ‘80s. In the fall of 1961 Trebor Tichenor (piano), Don Franz (tuba), Al Stricker (banjo) and Bill Mason (cornet) formed the St. Louis Ragtimers and began a regular gig at the Natchez Queen on Gaslight Square.

The band stayed together for more than 50 years, playing their last show just a few months ago at the Sheldon. In 1965 the band began playing regularly at the Goldenrod Showboat, hosting annual ragtime festivals there for years. Ragtime, said Andy Tichenor, was his dad’s life work.

“He started in the business probably in the early ‘50s, listening to early rag records,” Andy Tichenor said. “And then back in those early days, he started collecting this stuff, the sheets, piano rolls, and it literally became his life’s body of work.”

Trebor Tichenor’s ragtime collection included a player

the hometown of Trebor Tichenor’s wife, Jeanette. According to legend, the town owes its name to the vast amounts of moonshine made there.

“The animals would stomp and snort at the smell of the moonshine,” Stricker said.

“Up Jumped the Devil” was an old fiddle tune that they started playing on Gaslight Square, Stricker said.

“Trebor always liked it, and the people on Gaslight Square liked it too,” he said. “It’s a snappy little tune.”

Portrait artist opens new show

Continued from C1

Her overnight success was 20 years in the making. Mann thought she hit it big as a choir member of Kirk Franklin’s Family. Kirk Franklin and the Family would have two top gospel albums in the early to mid-1990s. Listeners could hear fellow choir members saying, “Sing, Tamela” as she belted her solo performance in “Now Behold the Lamb.” Mann was on her way to making her mark, but then things fell apart. Franklin disbanded The Family and regrouped with God’s Property.

“Once that ended, I was so broken,” Mann said. “Kirk used to say, ‘Change is hard, but it’s not always bad.’ I cried then, but I had no idea of the doors that God was opening for me.” Through one of Franklin’s promoters, she met Tyler Perry. Soon after, she and her husband

piano, piano rolls to play on the piano, records, and sheet music. Along with the objects, he began collecting information and stories about the history of ragtime.

Even before he began collecting ragtime paraphernalia, ragtime music made Tichenor fall in love with playing the piano.

“He started at age 5 and his parents kept him taking lessons and he really didn’t take to it,” Franz said. “Finally his piano teacher said I’m going to let you pick a song, and he picked ‘Maple Leaf Rag’ and that was it.”

When the St. Louis Ragtimers performed, they played a mix of original works and ragtime classics. One original piece, “Chestnut Valley,” was inspired by the Mill Creek Valley section of downtown St. Louis, home of ragtime composer Tom Turpin’s Rosebud Bar.

Another, “Bucksnort Stomp,” is named after

David Mann became successful urban stage actors. “Brown” and “Cora” became household names among Perry’s fans through his film, stage and television franchises. David encouraged her to piggyback on their fame back into music.

“When I did my first album, I was 38 years old,” Mann said. “I told David, ‘It’s too late, I’m too old. Let’s hang it up.’ But God told me that my time is not His time.”

She released “Gotta Keep Moving” in 2005, but it would be nearly a decade before she would musically reach the masses.

“Now I look at Tina Turner, she’s still packing out arenas. I look at Barbra Streisand, she’s still packing them out,” Mann said. “I’m like, ‘Lord if you can do this for them, all I can do is trust you that you’ve got my back and that’s where I stand.’”

But for her, it’s more than just the music.

“I never want to get to that

Andy Tichenor and his sister Virginia continue their father’s musical tradition, with Andy playing trumpet and Virginia piano like her dad.

“He created an environment for my brother and myself that was just really fun,” Virginia said. “We saw all of his great friends and music, and we just naturally wanted to be a part of it.”

Dennis Owsley, jazz historian and host of the weekly St. Louis Public Radio program “Jazz Unlimited,” interviewed Tichenor in 1986 for his book on the history of jazz in St. Louis.

“Not only was he a performer and a musician, but he was a scholar,” Owsley said of Tichenor.

At 9 p.m. Sunday March 23, Owsley will dedicate the first hour of “Jazz Unlimited” to remembering Trebor Tichenor on St. Louis Public Radio 90.7FM.

Edited for length and reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

place where I start thinking it’s about me,” Mann said. “I tell up and coming artists, ‘Don’t start thinking it’s about you and you’re getting into it because of the money or your talent or fame. Remember first that this is ministry. It’s all about the ministry.’”

She experiences this herself in the opening verse of “Take Me to The King.”

“I cry every time I sing it,” Mann said. “I’m happy to be in this place, and I’m glad for the testimonies that I’ve been getting – that people are being blessed, and this song helped them get through.”

Sounds of Praise starring Tamela Mann and featuring God’s Chosen, Cheneta Jones, Malinda Baker and Anointed Praise will take place at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 21 at the Scottish Rite Cathedral, 3633 Lindell. Tickets available through metrotix.com at Rib Shack locations and by calling (314) 917-8889 or (314) 2653659.

who has

of the

will hang at Better Family Life until May

for

Lifetime Achievement awardees from 1998-2002.

MARSHALL

Continued from C1

opens its doors to his five prints and other “Intimate” work by Claudia deMonte, Julia Fernandez-Pol, Annette Morriss, Steven Sorman, Katy Stone and Elizabeth Thach.

Marshall’s five pieces are smaller mono print compositions, about 16 by 20 inches framed, each in the shape of a diamond. They are from a suite of prints he made for the Honolulu Printmakers 85th Annual Exhibition last year, which called for artists to incorporate the number 85 in their submissions.

The arbitrary requirement of incorporating that number into his work inspired Marshall to vary the shape of his pieces and make prints from a diamond-shaped plate.

“Using the text was already a challenge,” Marshall said, “so I thought I might as well shake up my composition.

The diamond forced me to think of compositional relationships in a different way.”

Honolulu Printmakers accepted one of Marshall’s diamond prints in its exhibition and accepted a second print for a Salon des Refusés, an “exhibition of rejects” that were passed over for the exhibition proper but curated into a local gallery as a sidebar show. Five more of these 85-themed diamondshaped prints from this suite are now headed for St. Louis.

“I tried to use 85 as a springboard, but the viewer may not be able to see 85, the number or text, at all,” Marshall said. “If you look hard, you may be able to see fragments of the number.”

The work is abstract, giving pleasure through the interplay of color, figure and texture. Punning on the diamond shape, perhaps, Marshall called these prints “gem-like.”

“Because of the smaller

scale, there is a delicacy that gets lost in larger, more physical work,” Marshall said. “It’s the nature of these intaglio prints that you have to see them personally to appreciate the subtleties.”

While St. Louis art enthusiasts are personally viewing Marshall’s prints, he will be home on the Big Island, working on paintings and prints in one of the studios at the Art Department he chairs – or doing the more mundane administrative work required of his position. He hopes to return to St. Louis and other cities on the mainland next year. He said, “I hope next summer I’ll be able to do some exhibitions and residencies outside of Hawaii.”

“Intimate” opens at the Atrium Gallery, 4814 Washington Ave., on Friday, March 21 with a reception from 6-8 p.m. and runs through May 10. Visit www. atriumgallery.net.

Daniel Hodges,

painted portraits

late Alderman Greg Carter among others, has a new show opening at Better Family Life, Inc., 5415 Page Blvd., with an opening reception from 3-6 p.m. Saturday, March 15. “As I prepare to relocate to Atlanta, I am having one last art show in St. Louis,” Hodges said. His work

30. Hodges was the St. Louis American Foundation’s portrait artist

the Salute to Excellence in Education

Trebor Tichenor Photo Courtesy St. Louis Ragtimers

~ Celebrations ~

Dance champ

Sixth-grader Maya Owens is a National Grand Champion at Champion Spirit Group. Maya and her team, Platinum Athletics–Pearl, competed against eight cheer and dance teams for the national grand championship. The team was awarded a National Grand Champion sweatshirt, medal and t-shirt along with a full-paid bid to return and compete for “The One” finals.

Reunions

All reunion announcements can be viewed online!

Beaumont Class of 1968 46th Reunion Family Picnic will be Saturday, June 7, 2014. Meetings to plan the picnic will be the 4th Saturday of February 22, March 22 and April 26, 2014 at 2 p.m. at STL County Library 7606 Natural Bridge.

For more information email bhsco1968@att.net or call 314 869-8312.

East. St. Louis Lincoln Sr. High Class of 1969 had started planning its 45th class reunion. Meetings are held every second Saturday of the month. For more information please contact Robert Whitehead at 618-397-5498 or email at robtwhitehead@ att.net.

Jennings Senior High School’s Class of 2004 will be hosting its ten-year class reunion July 26-27, 2014. If you are a member of the Class of 2004 and you would like to participate, please contact your Class President, Alona

Sistrunk, at alona724@gmail. com with your name (and name at the time of graduation if it has changed), your address, your phone number, and your email address. We will be in touch soon with additional information.

Sumner High School Classes of 1954 will celebrate its 60 year class reunion August 15-16, 2014 at the Sheraton Westport, Plaza Tower, 900 Westport Plaza. Contact Audrey Poindexter (314) 383-7174; ajpoin@att.net or Marlene May (314) 567-9629; onelene1@att.net.

Sumner High Class of 1974 has started planning its 40th class reunion. Meetings are

Nuptials

Timothy Goldman and Tiffany Hudson are pleased to announce their upcoming wedding. Timothy, a Chicago native, and Tiffany, of St. Louis, met at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where they received their bachelor’s degrees. They currently reside in Creve Coeur, MO. The wedding is set for May 25 at the Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel.

Certified!

Congratulations to Kelvin B. Willis, Property Manager for Cardinal Ritter Senior Services, who has passed the Housing Credit Certified Professional (HCCP) examination. The (HCCP) is a specialized designation for property managers, asset managers and others working in the affordable housing industry through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.

Pastoral birthday

Happy 43rd Birthday to the Pastor of Family of Victory Kingdom Citizens on March 15. Pastor Brewer and Lady Brewer also celebrated their wedding anniversary on March.

From: Your wife, Lady Brewer and the FOV church family

held the third Saturday of the month from 2-4 pm at New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church, located at 4055 Edmundson Rd., St. Louis, MO 63134. For more information please contact Denise (Washington) Nicks at Sumnerclassof74@yahoo.com, 314-642-3366 or Joyce (Bush) Cruesoe at cruesoe2195@att. net, 314-484-1552.

Sumner High School Class of 1984 is planning a 30 year reunion for August 22-24, 2014. For more information please contact Priscilla (Ms. Prissy) at 314-556-3944, or Robin Allen at 314-369-9549.

Vashon High School Class of 1964 has planned their

50th reunion weekend for September 19 -20, 2014. Please call or email any changes to your address, telephone number and/or e-mail to Juliette Johnson at 314-781-2233 or jj0119@ aol.com or Thelma Hall at 314-869-4609 or tabbeytt@ prodigy.net or visit Facebook page: Vashon Class of 1964, for activities and updates.

Vashon Class of 1965 is planning for the 50th Class Reunion. The planning meeting will be held on Saturday, March 29, 2014 at the Walnut Park Library, 5760 West Florissant at 2 pm. Classmates are encouraged to attend. For information call Cleo Sanders Chairman

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

Send your announcements to: kdaniel@stlamerican. com or mail to: St. Louis American Celebrations c/o Kate Daniel 2315 Pine St. St. Louis, MO 63103 FREE OF CHARGE

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

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

Rev. James F. DeClue passes at 86

Baptist minister and corporate

exec led the city NAACP

By Gloria S. Ross For St. Louis Public Radio

The Rev. James F. DeClue, a Baptist minister and corporate executive who led the city NAACP for much of the 1980s, died of pneumonia on Monday, Feb. 24 at the age of 86. With a life devoted to one charitable organization or another, “he gave so much,” said his daughter, Pamela Chatman of St. Louis. At first, he didn’t have much to give. He was cloaked in poverty and discrimination growing up in Depressionera North St. Louis.

James Franklin DeClue Jr., the son of James F. DeClue Sr., a minister, and Ersphine Johnson DeClue, was born in St. Louis on July 24, 1927. The oldest of three boys whose father left the home when they were young, he told others he lived in a world of broken dreams that he was determined to escape.

Straight out of Sumner High School, he entered the U.S. Army and served overseas during World War II.

When he returned to St. Louis, he married the former Lois G. Foxwell and they began to raise their family. After receiving his “calling” to become a minister, he was ordained in the Baptist Church in 1958. Five years later, he was ordained in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

He became a traveling minister, preaching at churches in small Missouri towns: Pacific, Washington, Union and Mexico. While serving as pastor in Mexico, he moved his family to Jefferson City. In 1968, while working full-time, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education at Lincoln University.

He gave up being an itinerant preacher and returned to St. Louis. He began putting

his new degree to use at Emerson Electric Co. where his 32-year career ended as corporate director of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity.

During the ‘80s, the Rev. DeClue returned to his Baptist roots and became pastor of one of the area’s most prominent churches, Washington Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church. He later led New Bethel Missionary Baptist Church until his health began to fail about three years ago. He was a life member of the national NAACP, the oldest and largest civil rights organization in the U.S., and he led the St. Louis chapter for eight years. He used his role at Emerson to create greater opportunities for blacks.

The Rev. DeClue was the spokesperson when the St. Louis Black Leadership Roundtable took on the St. Louis Regional Medical Center and its board chair, Robert Hyland, who headed KMOX radio, over the hospital’s hiring practices, board representation and limited emergency room hours.

When B.T. Rice, senior pastor of New Horizons Christian Church and first vice president of the St. Louis County NAACP, began a one-man picket of an Amoco gas

station that was being built on Natural Bridge, the Rev. DeClue happened by. Upon learning that Rice was there because no blacks were on the worksite, he joined Rice. He later told gas company executives in no uncertain terms that things had to change.

“James would shoot straight from the hip,” Rice laughed. Amoco shut the site down until it could hire some African Americans. It was just one of many times he fought to get blacks a piece of the employment pie or to help them move up corporate ladder.

He and the Rev. B.T. Rice worked sideby-side to get Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man out of black neighborhoods. They worked with Jay Nixon, then Missouri attorney general, and saw all of the tobacco ads eventually come down.

He was a founding member in 1986 of the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition and helped form Concerned Clergy, which allowed the ministers to delve into the political realm. He served on Missouri’s Crime Commission and as chaplain of the St. Louis County Police Department.

He gave time, attention and support to numerous organizations, including Annie Malone Children’s Home, Father Dunne’s Home for Boys, the United Negro College Fund, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, the YMCA of Greater St. Louis and Saint Louis University’s Upward Bound Program.

“He was a very passionate man about his ministry and working in the community,” said Earl Nance Jr., pastor of Greater Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church.

The Rev. DeClue made a mean chili, was an accomplished gardener and an adroit portrait painter. But even during his down time, he was often focused on the cause: He wrote poetry – primarily about the struggles of African Americans.

The Rev. DeClue was preceded in death by his parents and a brother, Leslie DeClue.

His survivors include his former wife, Gloria DeClue; a brother, Gerald DeClue, of St. Louis; a son, James F. DeClue III, of Arlington, Texas; two daughters, Pamela Chatman (Glenn) and Brenda DeClue of St. Louis; two stepdaughters; and seven grandchildren.

Edited for length and reprinted with permission from news.stlpublicradio.org.

If you’re anything like me, worry creeps into your psyche when the world starts to close in. Money, relationships, illness, envy, pride all rise to the level of something to worry about.

I can sometimes forget that worry is not supposed to have standing in the kingdom. Some have even told me worry is a sin. No matter how hard I try, I find myself worrying about things that I have literally no control over. Be it family, friends, or circumstance, the tendency is to worry as if worrying by itself is going to make a difference.

Scripture says, “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?” (Matthew 6:27).

I first must internalize this, because life constantly gives me pop quizzes and make-up exams to test my beliefs, if not my very faith. I have to constantly remind myself that the answer to this worry thing has already been given to me.

Rather than worry, all one needs to do is to rely on the truth that is Jesus Christ. That simple truth is because I am a believer in Him, these issues that I let trap me have been dealt with by Him through His sacrifice on the cross.

Trust! Don’t fret. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all things will be given you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

Now here it is in the very next line: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” I get it. The problem has an answer. However, these exams and quizzes still cause me undue anxiety. Now my professor (God) keeps reminding me that I know this lesson well. Just go take the test. “Do not be anxious about everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6). It’s called let go and let God. I find that when I am consciously able to do this, and do it enough, it’s becomes habitforming. I’m a hands-on kind of student. You can’t tell me. You’ve got to show me. Biblical demonstration coupled with reinforced repetition clarifies a lot for me. I need to get out of my own way sometimes and quit trying to figure things out on my own. I find it often to be a recipe for personal failure. There’s a truth at play here for me. Let God figure into all of my decision-making and follow what is revealed to me. You know how it works: stop, think and pray. Hand it over. Let it go. Worry wastes time, yours and God’s.

The American is accepting Inspirational Messages from the community. Send your column (no more than 400 words) as a Word document and pasted text to cking@stlamerican. com and attach a photo of yourself as a jpeg ile. Please be patient; we will run columns in the order

James A. Washington

The Rev. James F. DeClue

Celebrity Swagger Snap of the Week

Fan Tiffany Foote had the opportunity to meet soul singer Chrisette Michele between her two sold out shows Saturday night at the Lumiere Theater.

Croonin’ Chrisette. Although the delight of seeing soul singer Chrisette Michele finally perform with a band was temporarily offset by the fact that she came to the stage dressed like a bad-built Punky Brewster, she brought the house down Saturday night at Lumiere Theatre. I know there are still quite a few people who don’t know who she is. If Saturday’s show is any indication, it won’t be for long. That girl scatted her face off and seduced her boyfriend the guitar slayer at the same time – without missing a note. I must say that I wasn’t the biggest of fans when I walked in there, but by the time she took me to church and back I was like “that girl is good.” And she quietly has me on the edge of my seat waiting to see how she cuts up as one of the new cast members of “R&B Divas: LA” after she announced at the show she would be the one bringing the drama this go ‘round.

I felt even more cheated from all of the times she came with tracks after seeing her do her thing with a full ensemble. I hope that she knows she can never come back to the Lou in Memorex after the way she did it live last week. Attack of the partying Pisces. When did the Pisces start going so hard repping their Zodiac sign? Because they were so deep in these streets this weekend that I no longer secretly longed to be a Scorpio. The Pisces partied like it was 1999 last weekend! It has me wondering what they are going to do for the next two weeks. Things kicked off at the Rustic Goat on Friday night when my girl Mocha Latte teamed up with DELUX Magazine’s first lady Carri Griffin It was cute, but I was expecting it to be more _________ (insert new slang for crunk). There was a nice mix of STL stars there though. I was happy that the crowd wasn’t so deep that it was uncomfortable; too bad the folks seemed a little too chill for my taste. And did anyone else completely not check for special “celebrity guest” Peter Gunz? That was a rhetorical question based on how folks gave him a side eye and kept it movin’ when he got on the mic to try and get the folks amped. They would have been better off giving Mocha the mic and directing Peter to the grill area to help prepare pizzas and chicken and waffle plates. What? It was true. A word to the wise, party promoters, if you decide you have to use a reality star/starlet, go with one of the housewives (meaning Kandi – because she’s the only one who does club parties) or one of the alleged basketball wives because I haven’t seen a “Love and Hip Hop” cast member who has brought the crowd since Miss Chrissy. That’s right; it was empty boots for Joseline and Steebie too.

Pisces partying: Part II. I know y’all didn’t think I was finished swimming with the fishes for the weekend! Day 2 meant another round of the Rustic Goat with the Umbrella Group. I don’t know if it was an official Pisces party – but based on the VIP birthday booths, and the fact that Daryel Oliver was there celebrating, we will charge it to the Pisces game. Now this party was all the way live. I would have said a little too live had I not stepped foot next door to kick it with the Young and Restless and quietly ratchet crowd that the Coliseum pulled in. It was so packed that I assumed some sort of celebrity was in the building. However, when I made it to the stage it was the Hella Fly crew doing their usual Saturday night hype session. I also made it up to Cuetopia II where I had to maneuver through balloons, birthday cakes and a bustling crowd – so yes, the Pisces get credit for that one too.

314 stand up! Although St. Louis the city is technically an Aquarius, that doesn’t stop us from pretending that STL as a part of team Pisces every March 14th (as in 314 day…get it…). And Friday will be the biggest 314 day to date thanks to the folks over at Hot 104.1/Old School 95.5 FM. They are taking over Art Hill for a live broadcast with my girl Staci Static starting at 3 p.m. and asking that the city come out in droves for the ultimate STL selfie at 4 p.m. (be sure to rock your STL related gear).I’m praying that the weather gets its Multiple Personality Disorder under control and gives me something along the lines of that sunny 76 degrees we had on Tuesday. I have a feeling 314 Day live is going to be epic either way as the city comes together to show St. Louis pride.

Movin’ with Music Therapy. JE Entertainment’s Music Therapy has changed locations and I thought I would go check out the ladies lineup in honor of Women’s Month Friday at Voce (inside the new Maurizo’s downtown on Tucker). Poetess X Blu Rayne was the hostess and she was giving me KiKi Shepherd with a twist out. I know there were some untraditional songs on classical instruments. I missed Rhoda G. on the sax, but Bell’s version of Outkast’s “So Fresh and So Clean” in F minor (probably not) on the violin is etched in my brain. The surprise grand entrance of headliner Shelley (and her seductive cat suit) was foiled by the soundman, but the folks didn’t seem to mind. Be sure to check them out the first Friday of every month.

A futile 1st Fridays. The March edition of 1st Fridays was held at Lotus and was quietly a bust. I don’t blame Fred, Harry or their partners in the least, though. I’ve decided that somebody put roots on the building at the corner of 20th and Locust, because there haven’t been any parties worth writing home about since it was at Nectar. I’ve decided that it was either the owners of Nectar or Bobby Brown that directed black magic at the spot. Remember how Bobbay got “full” and cut up as the celebrity guest? He threatened to fight, was trying to charge fans $20 AFTER he agreed to take photos, threatened to smash a photographer’s camera and almost got put out. If my memory serves me correctly, that was one of the last packed to the gills parties the spot ever enjoyed. I’m sure 1st Friday will bounce back for April!

Bre and Ambria enjoyed the laid back vibe of 1st Fridays @ Lotus

Kima and Shay kicked their weekend off @ EXO

Paige and Datiana getting festive with the 1st Fridays crowd @ Lotus

Arlis was good hands with Nakea and Sharida as they celebrated their birthdays @ The Umbrella Group’s Blazers and Stilettos Party Saturday night @ The Rustic Goat

Theo of Kennedy’s Pet Shop with his brother Shorty Da Prince for BPLR’s Customer appreciation party Saturday night @ Soho

Ashley and Devin couldn’t help but kick it @ The Coliseum Saturday night

Peter Gunz of ‘Love and Hip Hop’ teamed up with Mocha Latte and Delux Magazine’s Keith Griffin to party with the Pisces Friday night @ The Rustic Goat

Mike of Dat Dude Ent along with Tangie and Lawanda kicked off their Who Got Game Kick Ball League with a special party Friday night @ EXO

Herb and Mello of It’s Just Different came to party for 1st Fridays @ Lotus

It was a musical girl’s night out for Miranda, Lissa and Aerie as they enjoyed the soulful sounds of Chrisette Michele Saturday night @ Lumiere Theater

Photos by Lawrence Bryant

Spring Career and Networking Fair St. LouiS A

St. Louis Community CollegeFlorissant Valley will be hosting a Spring Career and Networking Fair

10 a.m.-1 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, in the Student Center Multipurpose Room. The campus is located at 3400 Pershall Road in Ferguson.

Sponsored by Career and Employment Services (CES) at Florissant Valley, the fair gives jobseekers a chance to meet with a wide range of employers to discuss full-time, part-time, and internship positions.

“The Career and Networking Fair offers a wonderful opportunity for students, alumni and community members to meet with area employers and learn about jobs and internships,” said Michela Walsh, Florissant Valley’s manager of career and employment services. “Our last career fair had more than 250 job seekers who were able to connect with approximately 60 employers.”

More than 50 employers will be present to speak with job seekers and to establish an employment network. Job search candidates can talk with employers in a number of industries including non-profit, hospitality, customer service and healthcare.

Jobseekers are required to dress professionally and should bring a supply of resumes.

In addition to organizing career and job fairs, CES offers tips on conducting successful job searches and interviewing skills, assistance with writing resumes and cover letters, as well as an assortment of career preparation workshops.

“It’s like having a friend available 24/7 to answer questions and give me guidance on my career goals and ambitions,” said Sylisha Cobbs, Florissant Valley alumna.

For more information, contact Walsh at 314-513-4543.

Training youth for jobs

Southern Illinois University Edwardsville alum Michael Palmer credits his liberal arts education for his capacity to think outside the box, leading him to launch his business, Code Red Education.

Code Red, which was started in May 2012 and received a coveted $50,000 Arch Grant last fall, provides area youth and individuals with access to education in the area of computer science, specifically coding. The self-described “eduprenuer” said his company helps people find good-paying jobs in lieu of or before they earn that college

Alphas will dedicate prize money to scholarships

The Epsilon Lambda Charitable Foundation, in partnership with the Saint Louis Epsilon Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., won the American Family Insurance “Long Live the Dream Challenge,” an online competition against a number of other community service organizations throughout the United States. The first place prize money of $5,000 will be used to fund their scholarship program for the 2014-15 academic year. The Epsilon Lambda Charitable Foundation provided five annual scholarships to local high school students planning to pursue higher education. Pictured: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity members Michael Ferrer, foundation chairman, and American Family Insurance representatives Troy Squires and Ken Rice.

degree. Palmer also credits “mother necessity” for prompting him to start his coding business. While he was a student, he began coding from his room at SIUE’s Prairie Hall so he could afford to live in a single room without a roommate.

During his tenure at SIUE, Palmer earned a bachelor’s and a master’s in history. He also obtained teaching certifications in English and history.

His SIUE mentors included Jason Stacy and Eric Ruckh, associate professors of historical studies through the College of Arts and Sciences, and David DeWeese, emeritus associate professor in the School of Education’s Department of Curriculum and Instruction.

Palmer currently teaches history in North County in St. Louis. He uses technology in his classroom to help his students get a competitive edge in the workforce they will be entering in the next few years.

“What better way to learn technology than to see how it works and develops,” Palmer said. “It provides students with a better grasp of the fine arts. It also gives students a better understanding of technology and liberal arts.”

Palmer and his wife, Ann Lillard, taught alternative education in Cahokia for several years. That experience planted the seed for Code Red Education, he said. The couple met at SIUE. Lillard earned her bachelor’s in English and teaching certification from the University in 2008.

“These are students who were multiple years behind in credits or coming back from longterm suspension, pregnancy or homebound,” Palmer said. “What we were told constantly to tell our students is you have to get to college. They wanted a nice paying job that would take them out of the current situation they were in.”

Palmer cited the fact that nearly

50,000 U.S. computer science jobs remain vacant each year, because there are not enough individuals trained to fill them. He decided to use his liberal arts education and apply it toward preparing today’s students to fill those jobs. The number of vacant jobs in that area is expected to reach nearly 760,000 by 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The reality is, Palmer said, good paying jobs out of college are not as plentiful as they once were. He noted many good-paying jobs are available in the area of coding, but go unfilled due to lack of trained professionals in that area.

“It’s really easy to learn programming,” Palmer said. “Anyone can do it. It doesn’t require a college degree.

“My thought was to help these kids get pay good-paying jobs right out of high school. Then maybe they could continue on to college if they choose. It would definitely cut

the shortages in the number of tech people out there to fill IT positions that require coding knowledge, just in St. Louis alone.”

Palmer noted that there is an anticipated 12-percent increased need per year in the area of IT jobs. Only 3 percent of that gap is filled by current college graduates, leaving a 9 percent gap.

The educator/business owner likened computer programmers as today’s version of the auto assembly line workers of generations past. With a specific skill such as the ability to conduct computer programming functions and simply telling a computer what to do, individuals can enter good-paying positions when they enter the workforce.

Currently, Code Red works closely with St. Louis-based company Extra Help to provide job placement services for its students. Palmer’s office is located in the T-Rex incubator complex in the Railway Exchange building downtown.

Meramec Innovation of the Year

The Academic Service-Learning/ Community Engagement Advisory Committee’s Student Philanthropy Grant program has been selected as the Innovation of the Year at St. Louis Community College-Meramec. The program gives Meramec students who are engaged in service learning the opportunity to identify needs of community partners and write a micro-grant proposal to request support that will move the partner’s organization forward in some way.

Becky Helbling, committee member and professor in library services at Meramec, said that retired Meramec President Lynn Suydam provided a $2,000 gift to the service learning program at Meramec, with the idea that the money would expand the program.

“During fall 2010, the Academic Service Learning and Community Engagement Advisory Committee began brainstorming ways to use this gift in a creative way. After many ideas were suggested, discussed and discarded, we settled on the idea of using the money to provide grants to students who were working with faculty members on a service learning project,” Helbling said.

“This would give students an opportunity to experience service on a deeper level by asking them to conduct a needs assessment with the community partner, think of creative ways that their needs could be met, and then to write a grant proposal for the equipment or materials their project requires.”

In its first year (2011), the committee awarded three grants to students working with Webster Rock Hill Ministries, Circle of Concern food pantry and Educare Early Childhood Center.

Within the STLCC district, awards for Innovation of the Year are selected at each campus and the Cosand Center. Criteria include quality, efficiency, cost effectiveness, replication, creativity and timeliness. If there are innovations that cross the district in application and usage, a districtwide award may be granted. The winners from each location compete for the district Innovation of the Year, and the resulting League for Innovation plaque and recognition.