May 28th, 2020 Edition

Medicaid expansion will be on August 4 ballot

Parson chooses low-turnout primary, not general election where he will face Galloway

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

Governor Mike Parson, who will have a Democratic opponent in November, placed the Medicaid expansion initiative on the August 4 primary ballot. If approved, it would expand Medicaid eligibility to those who work, but don’t make enough to afford health insurance coverage. Expansion of Medicaid in Missouri would provide health insurance coverage to another 230,000 residents.

n “Nearly 350,000 Missourians asked for this vote, and Healthcare for Missouri welcomes this opportunity to accelerate our state’s sorely needed recovery.”

– Dr. Kamile Johnson

Parson claimed putting the voter initiative in a lower-turnout primary election was fiscally responsible.

“At a time when our state is undergoing a major health, economic and budget crisis, we need to know exactly where we stand when it comes to a massive spending initiative,” Parson claimed at a May 26 press briefing.

Missouri State Auditor Nicole Galloway, who will oppose Parson for governor on the November 3 ballot, said Parson is trying to help himself.

“He knows that Medicaid Expansion is more popular than he is in a general election, so he hopes that a smaller electorate will give him a better chance of misleading the voters and defeating it,” Galloway said in a statement. Parson cited research from Pew Charitable Trusts, saying Missouri is a top-five state for general revenue spending on Medicaid. The

See MEDICAID, A7

Nurse Nellie Smith held the hand of Kayden Tree, 8, before inserting a swab into his nose for a COVID19 test specimen at CareSTL Health in North St. Louis on Monday, May 11.

. LouiS AmericAn

Preparing to reopen churches – safely

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

Bishop Elijah H. Hankerson III knows that some local pastors are preparing to open the doors of their churches now that public health orders to control the COVID-19 pandemic have been lifted in St. Louis city and county. (He also knows that some local pastors defied the law and medical advice and kept their doors open for worship throughout the stay-at-home orders.)

But he is keeping the doors shut at Life Center International COGIC, the church he leads in Baden, for

From Jennings to Harvard

Malik Sediqzad will study architecture at Ivy League school

By Ashley Jones

For The St. Louis American

Malik Sediqzad is the first Harvard-bound graduate from Jennings School District in 20 years. He will study architecture, which he said combines his love of math with his passion to draw.

“I feel like architecture is an art form, but it’s functional,” Sediqzad said. “It’s not just something that you can look at, it’s something you can use too.”

Sediqzad received a perfect score on the math portion of his ACT and an overall composite score of 35. He mentioned his math teacher and National Honor Society advisor Maria Gazi as an inspirational figure from the district.

“From my 15 years of experience in Jennings, he is the most intelligent student I’ve had,” Gazi said. “He is honest. He is a leader, by example. He is a wonderful person, very curious.” Sediqzad grew up in Jennings and was nurtured by the district from an early age.

“The teachers and students that I’ve seen since I was five, they inspire me to do better,” Sediqzad

See MALIK, A6

Photo by Bill Greenblatt/UPI

What about the children?

COVID-19 hitting area black children, youth harder than whites

By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American

The number of COVID-19 cases among black children compared to white children in the City of St. Louis is concerning and begs a deeper look, said Dr. Will Ross, chair of the City of St. Louis’ Joint Board of Health and Hospitals during a May 22 meeting.

As of May 27, 27 African-American children between the ages 10-19 had tested positive for COVID-19 in the city, compared to eight white children in that age group. For those 9 and under, 8 black children and fewer than 5 white children have tested positive, according to the city’s website. “This is the area that we will have to focus on as a board going forward,” said Ross, who leads the 13-member board that advises the city’s public health director. “These are school-age kids, and we talk about returning to schools. We’ve all been getting lots of questions about ‘when is it safe? Is this population safe?’”

St. Louis Public Schools Superintendent Kelvin Adams told The St. Louis American that the information Ross pre-

Photo by Wiley Price

Crystal Brown visited with her parents on Memorial Day in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, along with her great-granddaughters Raniyah Riley, 9, a student at Combs Elementary School and Rayleigh Riley, 4.

Bishop Elijah Hankerson, president of the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition, spoke with Myron Gray of God In Action and Reverend Darryl Gray, a member of the Clergy Coalition, at Lively Stone Church of God, 4015 St. Louis Ave. in the city’s Ville neighborhood, on Tuesday, May 26. The coalition is distributing over 125,000 protective masks to churches.

Photo by Wiley Price

Malik Sediqzad

Music executive Carl Crawford devastated by double drowning at his home

A five-year-old child and 25-yearold woman drowned last Saturday afternoon at the home of former MLB player-turned-record-labelowner Carl Crawford

According to a report from Houston Police, the child was in the pool having trouble and the woman jumped in to save the child. They were transported to an area hospital, where they were later pronounced dead.

struggled all week to manage my emotions and I keep thinking of the families of those who’ve passed and their grief, I know they have it the hardest. They are the first and last thing I think of these days. Please keep them in your prayers, I know they will always be in mine.”

Babyface gave love advice to the Queen of Soul

some of the things he’s been doing. And I’m trying to decide if I want to date him or not.’” I said, “I wouldn’t trust this gentleman. About a month later I got a call and she said, ‘You were right, Face. He wasn’t the one.’’’

As ‘RHOA’ turns

that she hasn’t given Bravo an ultimatum and would never try to stop some else’s bag but says “it’s just not worth it to her to be around someone that sneaky and vindictive.”

Neighbors said the home is owned by Carl Crawford, a former MLB player and owner of the Houston record label 1501 Certified Entertainment.

Crawford released a statement, confirming that the deaths happened at his home and shared that he has been grappling with emotions regarding the tragedy.

“My heart is heavy. The tragic events that occurred at my home will be with me forever,” wrote Crawford in a statement shared on Instagram. “I’m at a loss for words. I’ve

Aretha Franklin once asked “Babyface” Edmonds advice. Edmonds revealed that the late Queen of Soul – who passed away in 2018 at the age of 76 – turned to him for love advice a few years before she died, because she considered him an expert due to the love songs he had written.

“Five years ago, I performed with Aretha. I sat in her [dressing] room and she told everyone to leave. Then she said, ‘You be writing all these love songs and I want your advice.’” Edmonds said during his Instagram Live celebration that commemorated the 25th anniversary of the “Waiting To Exhale” soundtrack. “’I’m seeing this gentleman and I’m gonna tell you

Last year Kandi Burruss vowed to quit “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” Phaedra Parks

Burruss has once again made her feelings known as Parks’ name has reportedly recently been mentioned among options for the next season.

Sources told HipHollywood that Burruss has made it known yet again that she does not desire to work with Parks, but the decision on whether Parks returns to the show is not up to her.

HIRING TEMPORARY TEAMMATES

Parks expressed that she hasn’t ruled out returning if the opportunity presents itself.

“Never say Never,” Parks reportedly told “US Weekly.”

BET Awards go virtual

Bravo Senior Vice President is actually the deciding factor on if Parks returns, not Burruss,” the source told HipHollywood.

According to HipHollywood, Burruss appeared on several talk shows and said if Parks returns she won’t be back. She insisted

As with the rest of the world, it won’t be business as usual for the BET Awards because of the COVID19 pandemic, but the show will go on.

As the network prepares to celebrate its 40th anniversary and the 20th anniversary of the awards, BET’s camp says the Awards will take place virtually.

According to the network, the celebration will include the top stars in black entertainment, sports and philanthropy will appear via “innovative techniques and artist-generated content” on Sunday, June 28. The network also announced that the threeday BET Experience, which annually takes place in Los Angeles as a prelude to the award show, has been called off and will return in 2021. The 2020 BET Awards are yet to be announced.

Sources: US Weekly, Instagram.com, The Blast, HipHollywood

Carl Crawford

Kandi Burruss

‘We need support to open safely’

Early childhood education providers demand support from state and local officials

By American staff

Black women from across the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County released demands on May 15 of state and local leadership to prioritize early childhood education providers in pandemic response.

“There is no reopening our economy without the individuals and centers that care for babies and children while their parents are at work,” said Ellicia Lanier, mother, executive director of Urban Sprouts Child Development Center, and member of the Ready by Five Steering Committee. “Childcare providers are choosing between our livelihood and our lives as we make decisions about reopening.”

Too many community-based and home-based childcare pro-

viders do not have the resources they need to reopen safely for their staff, their children, and their families, she said.

The evidence is strong that young children are frequent transmitters of COVID-19, which is why providers, parents and advocates say they are demanding urgency to prepare childcare providers to reopen from the following elected leaders and organizations: Gov. Mike Parson, Missouri Department of Social Services, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page, Mayor Lyda Krewson, St. Louis County Council, St. Louis City Board of Aldermen, and St. Louis City and County health departments.

“To protect our communities from further spread of COVID19, we need the support to

“Childcare providers are choosing between our livelihood and our lives as we make decisions about reopening,” said Ellicia Lanier, executive director of Urban Sprouts Child Development Center and member of the Ready by Five Steering Committee. The extended pandemic parking holiday in the City of St. Louis is coming to an end. The Parking Division is announcing will resume parking enforcement at curbs on Monday, June 1. Parking meter enforcement will return on June 8. St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones suspended most ticketing, collections, and escalation

open safely,” said Rochelle Bea, owner and operator of Beginning Futures Learning Center.

“Our underfunded early childhood education system is already stretched too thin and, with delayed payments

to state-funded programs over the past two months that may never come, we do not have the resources to purchase the necessary materials to follow CDC guidelines for childcare. Our region has already lost at least two early childhood educators

to COVID-19. Do not let us lose any more.”

The group’s demands include:

• St. Louis County must earmark $20 million and St. Louis City must earmark $5 million of CARES Act funds specifi-

cally and exclusively for early childhood education (ECE) stabilization funds

• The St. Louis County Council should place a measure on the November 2020 ballot to establish local, dedicated funding for community-based and publicschool early childhood (0-5 years old) programs.

• Appoint a council that includes an infectious disease expert working with ECE and health experts to vet and clearly communicate regionallyaligned policies and guidelines.

• All open or reopening ECE providers must be given four weeks’ worth of effective personal protective equipment (PPE) at no cost and continue to receive PPE until medical experts agree it is safe to operate without it.

• All open or reopening ECE providers must be given four weeks’ worth of effective sanitation and screening supplies (e.g., thermometers) at no cost and continue to receive said supplies until there is a consensus among medical experts that such precautions are no longer required.

• All open or reopening ECE providers and staff must receive guidance and monthly training.

• Increase protection and benefits to early childhood educators and workers.

Lanier said, “We must prioritize their health and safety immediately. Our entire region depends on it.”

The group’s demands can be read in full and signed by individuals and organizations who support them at readybyfive. com/demands.

City will resume parking enforcement starting June 1

of late penalties on March 16 to slow the spread of COVID19. All departments have implemented skeleton crew and work-from-home plans when possible. Jones said that offices

and garages have been continuously and thoroughly cleaned.

“As treasurer, I have been laser focused on helping St. Louisans safely survive these challenging economic times,”

Jones said. “We are working on a safe, phased return.” She also encouraged those who need financial counseling to sign up for a free, online 1-on-1 financial counseling

session or class with the Office of Financial Empowerment at stlofe.org.

Further updates will be posted at ParkLouie.com and STLTreasurer.org.

If you could do one thing for your community, what would it be? More daycare centers? More funding for Head Start? Completing the 2020 Census is a safe and easy way to inform how billions of dollars in funding flow into your community for hundreds of services. Respond online, by phone, or by mail. If I could do one thing,

Complete the census at:

Photo courtesy of Ready by Five

Editorial /CommEntary

Let’s make Republicans regret putting Medicaid expansion on the August ballot

Republican leaders in Missouri, including Gov. Mike Parson, do not want to expand Medicaid in the state. Even during a pandemic, when it’s undeniable that the health of any of us impacts the health of all of us, they do not want to accept federal money to provide health insurance for people who currently make too much money to qualify for Medicaid but too little to afford a suitable health plan.

With Republicans controlling both houses of the Legislature, public health advocates had to take matters into their own hands. They crafted a ballot initiative to expand Medicaid in Missouri and gathered more than enough signatures to get it on the ballot. Missouri Secretary of State John “Jay” Ashcroft, also a Republican, rushed the signature validation process (Republicans only care about fraud when it’s convenient) to approve the initiative. Ashcroft rushed the process to give Parson just enough time to put it on the August 4 primary ballot rather than the ballot for the November 3 general election. As expected, Parson placed the measure on the August 4 primary ballot.

State Auditor Nicole Galloway, the Democrat who will oppose Parson in November, said that Parson does not want to have to compete against the progressive measure in November: “He knows that Medicaid expansion is more popular than he is in a general election.” More generally, Republicans know that they and their issues do better when fewer people vote, and primary elections have lower voter turnouts than general elections. So, Republicans think it will be easier to defeat Medicaid expansion on a primary ballot. It is up to Democrats – and all public health advocates – to prove them wrong. We have done so before – recently. Missouri Republicans put the anti-labor Proposition A on the primary ballot in 2018, expecting a more favorable result for conservatives in a low-turnout election. (One can’t repeat it often enough: Republicans know they and their issues do better when fewer people vote.) It backfired. “Normally there is a 20-30% turnout for a statewide primary, but we had a 45% turnout in 2018,” said Eric Fey, Democratic director of elections for St. Louis County. With a strong turnout, the anti-labor Proposition A was crushed by nearly a half-million votes.

In 2018, state Rep. Gail McCann Beatty, D-Kansas City, then the House Minority leader, shrugged at the Republicans’ gamesmanship in moving the vote to August. “Either way, Proposition A will be defeated,” she said. She was right. In 2020, state Rep. Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, now the House Minority leader, is showing the same swagger.

“Governor Parson and his fellow Republicans have always opposed Medicaid expansion for

purely political reasons, putting partisan ideology ahead of the health and welfare of Missourians. It took an initiative petition to remove them from the equation so voters can take this long-overdue action,” Quade stated.

“The governor knows Republicans will pay a political price for their failed health care policies and hopes to minimize it by playing games with the election date. It won’t work. Medicaid expansion has always enjoyed widespread support among Missourians, and right now it is more important than ever. The only thing the governor’s crassly partisan move changes is Medicaid expansion will be enshrined in the Missouri Constitution three months earlier than expected.”

Let’s prove her right. And let’s say it again: Republicans know they and their issues do better when fewer people vote. The party of Donald Trump and Mike Parson know they and their issues do better when fewer people vote. The only solution is for voters to rise up and oppose Republicans and their chronic disdain for the clearly expressed public support for basics like the right to organize, expanded voting access, and accessible healthcare. The only way to defeat the party of Donald Trump and Mike Parson is to vote.

We won’t go back – we must move forward

By Reverend Darryl Gray For The St. Louis American

Stark truths often come most into focus in a crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic has once more laid bare the stark reality of being members of a minority community without the resources so many others take for granted. As a reverend, I’ve officiated at and attended the funerals of too many struck down by this grim virus. We have laid too many of our brothers and sisters to rest because they were on the front lines.

All across this nation, African Americans are disproportionally bearing the brunt of infections and deaths from COVID-19. In the City of St. Louis, as of May 21, 71 of the 109 deaths and 1,131 of the 1,744 cases were black people. That means 65.1% of the deaths and 64.8% of the cases of COVID-19 were African Americans, when we form only 45.9% of the city’s population.

The negligence of our government in not providing equal access to affordable healthcare has left many in our community weakened by the underlying conditions that have increased their risk of the virus developing into a more acute case.

Also, we constitute many of the front-line and essential employees staffing our hospitals, nursing homes, restaurants, grocery stores, pharmacies,

delivery services, transportation, sanitation and the post office. There is no option of sheltering at home when losing your income can mean the loss of that home and the “essential” nature of your job compels you to work.

The injustice and inequity exposed by the pandemic cannot be allowed to exist. We won’t go back. We must move forward. The steps forward are before us.

We must pass Medicaid expansion in Missouri.

Supporters have collected enough signature for it to be on the ballot this year, most likely in August. We must join our surrounding states and close the gap in bringing healthcare to tens of thousands of people who currently fall in the coverage gap – they earn too much money to currently qualify for Medicare but not enough to afford quality private insurance.

By Timothy Makubuya

For The St. Louis American

As a sportsman, I have learned to view and treat all people the same regardless of their race, place of origin, gender, sexual orientation, or social class. My sports career has been characterized by over three decades of active participation in running. My love for exercising and the training of others have been impacted by the current global pandemic. COVID-19 has taken me aback and ignited a renewed sense of cognitive dissonance surrounding health disparities among black Americans. COVID-19 disproportionately affects the lives of black people in the U.S. For those blacks who have not only heeded the advice of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), but love exercising, they might be met with lethal force from color-blind individuals – one of the most recent being the murder of Ahmaud Arbery in Brunswick, Georgia. However, some may argue that Arbery’s murder isn’t directly tied to COVID-19. Yet, the CDC encourages Americans of all races to utilize exercise as a way to cope with stress, depression and other mental health consequences during COVID-19. Among some Americans, COVID-19 fatalities due to pre-existing conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and exercise could have been prevented through routine

exercising in the form of walking or jogging prior to the pandemic. What is repulsive and unbearable, however, is the fact that when people of color try to exercise, instances of racial confrontations tend to heighten and might lead to black fatalities. On the other hand, racism, as we know it, is a false assumption of a perpetuated sense of superiority by one race over another – the white over the black race, in the case of Ahmaud Arbery. As I grapple with my own realization of how fatal such racist encounters can be for nonwhite joggers like Arbery, whose crime was jogging while black, I withstand any notions of fear that are eternized by cowardly acts as I continue to run. A popular social media hashtag, #IRUNWITHMAUD, is evidence of this form of indispensable resilience from Americans of all races. Comments such as “running while black shouldn’t get you killed” are quite revealing of the disgust that normally goes unchecked, especially since racism affects black health. Moreover, available scientific evidence suggests that enjoyment of the outdoors provides a unique contribution

to an individual’s volition, without which I could never equate the benefits of the runner’s high, an extraordinary euphoric feeling that is scientifically proven to reduce stress, often after the body is flooded with hormones called endorphins. It is widely understood that physical activity promotes healthy behaviors, a form of the social determinants of health, particularly in regards to noncommunicable diseases. My own connection to the outdoors can be traced to the allure of scenic beauty that I encounter while traversing the trails along the mighty Missouri River.

Assumptions of innocence and guilt, regardless of where you are, are differently ascertained for nonwhite individuals compared to their white counterparts. Therefore, as black joggers continue to show remarkable resilience to societal pressures not to jog or to miss opportunities for physical activity outdoors, I not only encourage a deeper discourse on America’s defaulted promissory note for the betterment of its black citizenry, but also encourage blacks to jog with a family member, partner, spouse, or even solo – armed with a smart phone.

Timothy Makubuya, Ph.D. is a Ugandan-born academic and scholar. He is a tenuretrack assistant professor of Health, Physical Education and Exercise Science in the College of Education at University of Missouri- St. Louis.

The State of Missouri must stockpile enough personal protective equipment (PPE) so that every front-line worker can be provided with protection freeof-charge if there is another COVID-19 surge this summer or fall. And also have a longrange plan to stockpile is essential PPE at the state level for any future health emergency as the federal stockpile proved inadequate in this pandemic. We must bring safer mail-in voting to Missouri for all, with every voter mailed a ballot request and drop restrictions on absentee voting permanently. We must address insecurity in food and essential household products with continued cooperation between the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, churches, and public and private funders. We have seen people come together to provide for God’s children given the high unemployment rate in the wake of this pandemic. We cannot return to complacency when this storm is past. We must continue to feed those in most need. We must make sure that the population most at-risk has priority access to a COVID-19 vaccine if one proves to work. We must make sure that anyone who needs the vaccine can get it, regardless of their ability to pay. These are the first steps forward. The first steps are essential to move us forward, because we won’t go back!

Letters to the editor

Excessive force by Des Peres Police

I am appalled that, once again, two innocent black shoppers at a major retailer in St. Louis County were racially profiled, wrongly accused of theft, and then brutalized by local police because of the color of their skin.

I strongly support St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell’s decision to conduct a full investigation into the shameful situation which occurred at Sam’s Club in Des Peres.

Marvia and Derek Gray were deprived of their rights and dignity and were then subjected to excessive force that the Des Peres Police Department would have never used if the subjects in question were white.

As videotape evidence clearly shows, we can now see with our own eyes the shocking injustices perpetrated on black people that many would not have believed had they not seen it. The culture of excessive force and racial profiling exercised by these police officers must be rooted out and removed from local law enforcement before another incident like this leads to a tragedy.

U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay St. Louis

Let’s not anoint King Trump

Kudos to Jake Pickering! His letter regarding the presidency of Donald J. Trump was right on target. His thoughts were expressed eloquently in the language that Trump and his cadre of clowns can understand.

The political, social and economic fiascos bestowed on America and the world community by Trump’s presidency should be flashing red lights for voters. The November presidential election will determine the fate of America and Americans. Until then, social and political activists in democracies worldwide will be holding their collect breath, praying for a Biden victory.

Staying on the couch and assuring yourself that victory will be achieved without your vote will, in its essence, be a vote for fascism and dictatorial governance. Let’s not anoint King Trump!

Michael K. Broughton Green Park

Virtual doesn’t work for vocational

Zoom may be great for academic students, but it is of little or no help to hands-on vocational students pursuing a high-

Reverend Darryl Gray (D-St. Louis) is a candidate for state representative in the 77th House District.

All

paying trade. An altruistic community leader who volunteers his time working with young people asked me, a retired vocational teacher, how can the school system make up what the vocational students missed during coronavirus closings? Laptop computers, with help from parents, are a great tool to keep the teachers teaching and the students learning. Vocational education courses that we used to call “shop” –like carpentry, auto mechanics, bricklaying, computer repair, electrical wiring, plumbing, landscaping, and cooking –require hands-on training. The culinary arts teacher can guide the student through cooking a pineapple upside-down cake on Zoom, but the teacher will never be able to grade the cake using the taste test, which is the most important in food prep (smile).

Local school superintendents need to plan for when students return to school. They should have the vocational director pull their teachers together for brainstorming sessions. After they put together a workable plan, they should bring in contractors, entrepreneurs, business owners and elected officials to help provide this essential education to our students.

James J. Hankins Wilmington, N.C.

Gov. Mike Parson

Comments sought before next Ferguson-DOJ hearing

The next status hearing for the Department of Justice’s Consent Decree with the City of Ferguson will be held 2 p.m. Thursday, June 4. To listen to the hearing, call (877) 336-1839 and enter Access Code 3539352.

The public may submit written statements regarding the implementation of the Consent Decree in advance. Send a written submission of no more than five pages to the monitor at Fergusonmonitor@hoganlovells.com by 5 p.m. June 2. Persons making written submissions must include their full names. The written transcript of this status hearing will be placed on the Court’s website for viewing by the public no later than June 5 at https://tinyurl.com/DOJ-Ferguson. Also, the Ferguson Police Department has posted two new general orders and two appendices related to First Amendment Protected Activities at https://tinyurl.com/ FPD-policies. DOJ will accept feedback at Community. Ferguson@usdoj.gov.

White rights, black lives and COVID-19

By Jamala Rogers For The St. Louis American

I understand why a segment of the African-American population believes that slow resources to our community and the drive to push people back to work are rooted in the fact that black folks make up disproportionate number of COVID-19 cases and deaths. People of color saw how the widespread publicity of who was being negatively impacted led to the rise of white people forcing government officials to open up society well before informed experts said we should. After all, their white rights are being infringed upon—and black people are disposable.

If the first 13 St. Louis COVID deaths were white people, alarms would have sounded and emergency strategies put in place. We know this because there’s an abundance of data showing the graphic racial disparities in medical treatments and health outcomes. Who gets access to quality care is no longer a mystery.

Any serious coronavirus plan of action should have targeted known vulnerable populations like poor black and brown communities and jail and prison populations. Robust testing plans are woefully inadequate in these areas. Testing gives you data, and data drives the plan.

I see some crowds of black folks not practicing safety measures, like wearing protective masks and social distancing. I feel like jumping through the TV and shaking them to the reality of Rona, as the virus has been nicknamed in the ‘hood. They’re not telling anyone to do as they do.

Then I see the angry, defiant white folks who are carrying out Trumpism and pushing their individualistic agenda on everyone else. They are tired of being in the house. They want to go back to work. They won’t be told to wear a mask. They, they, they.

Missouri and most other states are lifting their stay-at-home orders. This smacks in the face of advice by health experts who say we must use expanded testing, tracking contacts of infected people, improved treatment options and vaccine development as important factors to consider.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott opened up earlier than other states, ignoring his own benchmarks as well those recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC has recommended documenting a 14-day decline in cases. The state confirmed thousands of new cases in coronavirus cases and fatalities since reopening just a few weeks ago.

Texas Republicans must be stuck on stupid. In lockstep with the White House’s view that some will have to die so that the stock market can live, Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick suggested that elder citizens should be willing to expose themselves to COVID-19 for the sake of the economy.

Opening Up America Again has boiled down to opening up the economy regardless of the risks to workers and their families. And if these happen to be black and brown people, so be it.

The U.S. is months into this pandemic, and still there is no national coordinated plan. This country mourns 93,000-plus dead as of May 21 and is barreling towards two million cases. Opening up prematurely and forcing workers into unsafe conditions is sure to increase cases and prolong any genuine efforts to put the virus in check.

Little leadership is being given to one of the most daunting crises facing our generation. Let’s rely on our common sense and humane sensibilities. Those of us who believe in the right to live must stitch together a plan to survive a pandemic. We must survive COVID-19 and Trump.

Malcolm Davis enjoyed a day in the rain with his mother Darlene M. Davis, founder and managing partner of Davis & Associates, during the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ food distribution event at Jamestown Mall on Saturday, May 16.

Mother and son serving the community

Photo by Wiley Price

Jamala Rogers

Children

Continued from A1

to be mindful of any data that would help us make any decision.”

Regarding what schooling will look like in the fall, Adams said it’s still premature to make any decisions, but he is working together with superintendents locally and nationally to plan for all kinds of scenarios.

Ross said another new concern is the disease now impacting children under 5. It appears to be similar to Kawasaki disease, which causes inflammation, fever, rashes and swelling. There is a strong correlation between COVID19 and these symptoms, Ross said, yet it’s not yet known if the virus is causing it. So far there have been four cases identified in the St. Louis region.

“We don’t know enough about this yet,” Ross said.

Dr. Fredrick Echols, director of the City of St. Louis Department of Public Health, said we will likely see more cases in the upcoming months now that doctors are aware of the new condition and “it’s on our radars.”

Since the onset of the pandemic, Ross has been advocating for targeting resources to areas that are being hit hardest by the virus. In the City of St. Louis, the rate of COVID-19 cases in African-American neighborhoods is astoundingly higher than for majority-white

Malik

Continued from A1

said. Jennings Superintendent Art McCoy met Sediqzad through the student’s involvement in various school organizations. He was involved with the Men on Business program, Construction Career Development Initiative and Student Council. He participat-

City of St. Louis COVID-19 cases by race and age

areas. In the neighborhoods north of Delmar Boulevard, the rate is between 740 and 1,600 cases per 100,000 people. If you go south of Interstate 64, it’s largely between 81 and 447 cases per 100,000 people. The 63116 zip code in South City — a neighborhood with large pockets of immigrants and African Americans — has a higher rate of 447 and 747 cases per 100,000. The city health department

ed in all of these extracurricular activities and exceeded a 4.0 GPA while taking courses that put him two years ahead in college credit.

“Malik has always been an amazing young man,” McCoy said. “He’s always been a high-earning GPA student. He has a wonderful sense of humor. He’s been quiet. Over the six years I’ve known him, he blossomed into a leader.”

Sediqzad has a passion for language as well as math.

needs to distribute more personal protective equipment and increase contact tracing, disease investigation, and surveillance testing in these affected areas, Ross said.

“We are assuring the community we know what’s right, and we’re procuring the resources to do all of this,” Ross said during the meeting.

Echols explained that contact tracing plays a key role in containing the virus. If a person contracts the virus, dis-

During his middle-school years, the language app Duolingo was released. Now, he said he is familiar with many languages and is fluent in Italian, Spanish and French.

“You get to learn about the people who speak that language and their culture and their country,” Sediqzad said. “I feel like once you learn the different perspectives, a different perspective can help you in every way.”

Sediqzad also is a provider

department. Echols said they plan to add 15 more staff in the fall in time for flu season, and these employees will stay on through 2021. In the meantime, the health department is bringing on more volunteer students from the Washington University School of Medicine to help with contact tracing.

Tim McBride, a public health professor at Washington University, expressed concern about the disparity between the county’s and city’s respective resources and ability to do contact tracing. St. Louis County announced it will hire 100 contact tracers, who will be phased in over time.

ease investigators at the health department try to figure out where that person contracted it and who they have come in contact with since. Then investigators contact those people and tell them to get tested or quarantine for 14 days. There are about 15 people working on disease investigation and contact tracing currently at the city health department. Four were provided by the state health

in his household. He recently returned to his job at Amazon after taking time off to quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sediqzad also has volunteered at his school’s food bank to support the district’s charitable efforts.

barrier of a separate city and county when we have movement of a virus that couldn’t care less,” Ross said. Ross said he spoke with St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page, who agreed to have county contact tracers support the city.

n “Safety is a big concern for us. We want to be mindful of any data that would help us make any decision.”

— SLPS Superintendent Kelvin Adams

“The city has a lot more resource constraints relative to the county for a lot of wellknown reasons,” McBride said.

St. Louis County received $174 million in federal CARES Act funding, compared to the city’s $35 million. Overall, the city has a higher rate of COVID-19 cases — with the city at about 560 cases per 100,000 compared to the county’s 480 cases per 100,000. The county has 2.5 times the cases — 4,832 cases compared to 1,867 — as of May 27. Yet, the county received five times the funding as the city.

“We have an artificial

Since Jennings School District switched to a virtual academy for social distancing, the district has given away 1,200 laptops, 3,600 meals of breakfast and lunch every week, and 60,000 pounds of groceries.

“Jennings has been giving $100,000 worth of food every week,” McCoy said. “That’s amazing in and of itself and something that most school systems don’t do.”

The district also introduced the youth to Harvard University. He had the opportunity to visit the campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, among other Ivy League schools, in a small group of students from Jennings Senior

Ross pointed out that the number of patients in regional intensive care units has come down, as reported by the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. As of May 26, there were 86 people in ICUs at the region’s four major healthcare systems — BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health, and St. Luke’s Hospital.

The seven-day moving averages of hospital admissions was 22 as of May 26 and the seven-day average for hospitalizations overall was 421.

“That’s good news for us,” Ross said. “We have not overwhelmed the capacity of hospitals.” However, looking at the city’s cases, there is an average of about 22 new cases each day, which Echols said shows some stabilization. Ross showed a graph of the city’s case numbers reflecting an upward trend.

“If you stand back from a distance,” he said, “we really are continuing to see these cases increase in the city.”

High School College Prep Academy.

“It was my first time on a plane,” Sediqzad said. “It was different how quickly you could go from places you’ve seen your whole life to a bigger city, and you can feel the potential of ending up there and what that means for the future ahead of that.”

Ashley Jones is a summer editorial intern supported by the Emma Bowen Foundation and the Democracy Fund.

from

now.

“I hear this narrative,” Hankerson said. “The grocery store is open, the liquor store is, so the church should be open. But in Walmart, you’re not sitting next to someone for hours. You’re not sitting together and having potluck dinner. In church, you don’t just grab what you need and go. For many of us, this is our family. It’s a place where we sit together, shake hands, hug.”

As the president of the St. Louis Metropolitan Clergy Coalition, Hankerson is working with the Baptist Minister’s Union and 24:1 Clergy Coalition to distribute over 125,000 protective masks to churches planning to reopen their doors. Most were donated by St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page; Governor Mike Parson and St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson donated smaller amounts. But helping pastors prepare to reopen their doors safely in June does not mean Hankerson endorses the decision. As he worked with colleagues to distribute protective masks to church leaders at Lively Stone Church of God in the city’s Ville neighborhood on Tuesday, May 26, Missouri was in the national news for flagrant violations of social-distancing safeguards over the weekend at Lake of the Ozarks. Hankerson was aware of other examples like it.

“For my congregation, I watch the stats every day, and I will be watching the numbers 14 days after Memorial Day,” Hankerson said. “This weekend, obviously everybody did not pay attention to public health. Will there be a resurgence after 14 days? That’s about how long it takes it to show up. If there is no resurgence, then we will begin the process of reopening.”

Medicaid

Continued from A1

state estimates it will need an additional $88 million in general revenue through Fiscal Year 2021 due to COVID-19. “Pass or fail, it is important that we understand the implications of Medicaid expansion as soon as possible,” Parson said. “Placing the initiative on the August ballot will give us more time to prepare and account for the outcome in our state budget.”

Medicaid is a federal-state jointly funded program, and Parson failed to mention that 90 percent of the total cost of expanding Medicaid eligibility comes from the federal government, not the state’s general fund.

It is a provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which extended Medicaid eligibility to all adults under age 65 (including parents and adults without dependent children) with incomes below 138 percent of the federal poverty level.

Hankerson and colleagues were doing the Lord’s work of distributing safety supplies to church leaders just a week after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a highly relevant report, “High COVID-19 Attack Rate Among Attendees at Events at a Church — Arkansas, March 2020.”

The report described an unnamed pastor and first lady of an unnamed church doing what church leaders do. They hosted a three-day children’s event, with two 1.5-hour indoor sessions followed by two 1-hour indoor sessions during normal church services. During each session, children participated in competitions to collect offerings by hand from adults. At one event, food prepared by church members was served buffet-style. Several days later, the church hosted a Bible study event.

What the pastor and first lady did not know was that they had been exposed to the new coronavirus before these services. The first lady developed nonspecific respiratory symptoms and fever just before the Bible study event and the pastor just after it. Of the 92 people who attended the children’s events or the Bible study, 35 tested positive for COVID-19 and three died. During contact tracing, at least 26 more confirmed COVID-19 cases were identified among community members who reported contact with church attendees; one of those people died.

That is four deaths resulting from small church events attended by only 92 people in total. However, these events transpired in early March with no public awareness of the pandemic and no social-distancing protocols in place. Now, church leaders have a plan. Along with masks, the Clergy Coalition is distributing a template for reopening church sanctuaries safely. It was prepared by District Elder Ron Stephens, pastor of Temple Church of Christ of the Apostolic Faith in St. Louis and

Springfield.

“An early August election will allow Missouri voters to more quickly decide this critical health care issue, so that our tax dollars are creating jobs and strengthening the Missouri economy,” said Dr. Kamile Johnson of the Kansas City Care Health Clinic. “Nearly 350,000 Missourians asked for this vote, and Healthcare for Missouri welcomes this opportunity to accelerate our state’s sorely needed recovery.”

Dr. Kayce Morton, a Jordan Valley Community Health Center pediatrician, said with the global pandemic, access to healthcare is more important than ever.

n Parson failed to mention that 90 percent of the total cost of expanding Medicaid eligibility comes from the federal government, not the state’s general fund.

To diminish the financial burden of covering more Medicaid-eligible individuals, the ACA stipulates that the federal government would cover the full cost of Medicaid expansion for each state, and that federal cost-sharing reduced to 90% in 2020. Missouri is one of only 14 states that have not expanded Medicaid.

“It’s more critical than ever that we bring $1 billion of our own tax dollars back from Washington D.C. so that we can keep rural hospitals open, protect thousands of health care jobs, and help essential workers access the care they deserve,” said A. J. Bockelman, campaign manager for Healthcare Missouri, which led the petition drive to get Medicaid expansion on the ballot.

A decommissioned Medicaid Ambulance Response Vehicle began its statewide tour with medical personnel on Tuesday, May 26 to build support for Medicaid expansion, making several stops in

assistant treasurer of the Clergy Coalition. Titled “Transition Plan 2020,” it offers guidance in terms of time (when to open for what services), place (how to seat people with social distance, segregating seniors in sections), precautions (masks, voluntary temperature checks) and hygiene (hand washing, sanitizers).

“What we have done in the past will be different from what we do now,” Stephens writes.

Both Stephens and Hankerson have influence above and beyond their local churches and the Clergy Coalition. Stephens is 1st vice chairman of the Midwestern District Council of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World. Hankerson is the youngest jurisdictional bishop in the Church of God in Christ (COGIC), overseeing 65 churches in Missouri and the Midwest. As COGIC clergy, they are working under an encyclical issued by Presiding Bishop Charles E. Blake to keep churches shuttered through the month of June.

Reverend Darryl Gray, a member of the Clergy Coalition and organizer for the mask distribution, said they are looking beyond the necessary provision of protective supplies.

“Our clergy leadership will continue to advocate for more testing, testing sites at churches, additional resources at our

community health facilities, and an aggressive commitment by government to address the chronic health disparities in black communities,” Gray said. “The virus may leave at some point, but the health of black people will not get any better without a real plan from government to address it.”

As of May 26, 73 of the 116 deaths from COVID-19 and 1,178 of the 1,867 cases in the City of St. Louis were black people. That means 63.0% of the deaths and 62.9% of the cases were black people, when blacks form 45.9% of the city’s population.

As of May 26, 150 of the 387 deaths from COVID-19 and 1,994 of the 4,766 cases in St. Louis County were black people. That means 38.8% of the deaths and 41.8% of the cases were black people, when blacks form 24.9% of the county’s population. In the meantime, the Clergy Coalition has protective masks to distribute. They will be handing them out to church leaders 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday and Friday at the Mt. Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, 7823 Racine Dr. in Pagedale.

“We were asked to close our churches, and we complied –

Clayton Williams tended the graves of his parents in Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery along with Betty Randle on Memorial Day.

“It’s even more urgent now that we expand Medicaid to keep our rural hospitals open, bring billions of our tax dollars home from Washington, and help hundreds of thousands of hardworking Missourians and their families gain coverage,” Morton said.

The tour has socially distant visits planned throughout the state.

“Our campaign has already hit the ground running,” said Dr. Blair Thedinger, assistant medical officer at KC Care. “We’ll now be visiting every nook and cranny of this state over the next 70 days to get our message out.”

House Minority Leader Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, said Parson and his fellow Republicans oppose Medicaid expansion for purely political reasons, putting partisan ideology ahead of the health and welfare of Missourians.

“It took an initiative petition to remove them from the equation so voters can take this long-overdue action,” Quade said.

“Medicaid expansion has always enjoyed widespread support among Missourians, and right now it is more important than ever. The only thing the governor’s crassly partisan move changes is Medicaid expansion will be enshrined in the Missouri Constitution three months earlier than expected.”

most of us,” Hankerson said. “Now that some are preparing to reopen, we wanted to provide some assistance to make sure they are safe. The government provided the masks, and we have the template provided by the Clergy Coalition. As for the decision to reopen, I am not endorsing or condemning.” He is, however, waiting –until two weeks after Memorial Day. Will there be a COVID19 resurgence? For the “Transition Plan 2020” template for reopening churches safely, visit https:// tinyurl.com/clergy-template.

Photo by Wiley Price

Last Saturday, May 23, the Urban League of Metropolitan Saint Louis served over 3,000 families with more than $150,000 in food, toiletries, and personal protective equipment at the Urban League North St. Louis Save Our Sons - Community Empowerment Center located at 1330 Aubert Ave, St. Louis MO 63113. For the past eight weeks, the League has hosted Food & Toiletries Giveaways throughout the St. Louis metropolitan area, including St. Louis City, St. Louis County, East St. Louis, and Madison County, Illinois.

“We are grateful for the opportunity to help more than 20,000 families to receive food, toiletries, and other necessities. Many thanks to our sponsors and volunteers who have greatly assisted in this effort. At the Urban League, we are very dedicated to empowering communities and changing lives throughout this time of crisis,” said Michael P. McMillan, President & CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Inc. For information please visit www.ULSTL.com/COVID-19

Black in business in the pandemic

Small businesses adjust to new normal as public health orders are lifted

By Tavia Gilchrist

For The St. Louis American

Reine Bayoc expected a few hiccups as she got back to making the vegan cookies, cupcakes, and sweet burgers that put SweetArt Bakeshop & Café on the map 11 years ago. Bayoc closed her business kitchen in the Shaw neighborhood seven weeks ago during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.

What she didn’t expect were the customers who lined the sidewalk outside her door on May 15, her first day back in business. Or problems

with an online ordering system that didn’t limit the number of orders filled every hour. Or the police officers who threatened to issue a citation for having a crowd of people outside who were not social distancing.

“We just thought a few people will want a veggie burger and a cupcake,” Bayoc said. On opening day, Bayoc said the café achieved the kind of sales they only see around Thanksgiving, when demand for the café’s holiday dinners and custom cakes skyrockets.

Across town in Ferguson, Cathy’s Kitchen only offers pick-up and online delivery now; the

inside dining room is closed. Demand continues to surge for the diner’s catfish platters, Cajun seafood pasta, and Philly cheesesteak sandwiches; hours have now been extended to 9 p.m.

Owner Cathy Jenkins never completely shut down the business, even at the height of the state’s stay-at-home orders issued in March. She said the dining room will remain closed for the foreseeable future, even though St. Louis County restrictions inside restaurants have been lifted.

“I miss my customers and I know they miss

See PANDEMIC, A10

Five reasons to open a checking account

By Jon Moen For The St. Louis American

According to the FDIC, more than that 17 million Americans do not have any kind of bank account, and with many industries and small businesses being affected by the pandemic, money can be tight. For those receiving a government stimulus check, opening a checking account will not only allow them to save money by eliminating the high fees associated with same-day cashing services, but also will help start a path to financial independence. Checking accounts are useful, all-purpose places to keep your money safe and secure in the short- to medium-term. They are widely considered to be one of the easiest ways to manage money and simplify financial tasks. Keeping this in mind, here are five reasons why everyone should have a checking account.

Make Automatic Payments and Budget Your Financials. You never know when you’ll need written proof that payment has been sent. With a checking account, there are several records of every transaction you make. This is useful for budgeting or providing proof of payment when making large purchases. All transactions are automatically recorded on your monthly statement, making for an excellent way to see exactly where your money goes each month and adjust your spending

See CHECKING, A10

Sonette T. Magnus named honorary consul of Canada

Partner at Lewis Rice is Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ attorney and board member

By Chris King Of

The

Louis American Canada has a new ally in

Louis – local attorney Sonette T. Magnus, a partner at Lewis Rice, LLC. She was named Canada’s new honorary consul based in St. Louis. Canada is Missouri’s largest trading partner with annual trade of $10.8 billion annually.

Appointed by the Canadian Consul General in Chicago John Cruickshank, Magnus will promote the CanadaU.S. relationship in the greater St. Louis area, working to advance trade between Missouri and Canada in strategic areas including agriculture, goods, services and energy. In partnership with the Consulate General based in Chicago, she will also collaborate with local St. Louis partners and policy-makers on issues such as environment and climate conservation.

Magnus follows the late John Bachman as honorary consul and will serve a three-year term.

A native of Jamaica, Magnus earned her J.D. from Emory University School of Law in 2009 but studied in Canada as an undergraduate. She earned her B.A. with distinction from the University of Toronto in 2006, after studying at the St. George Campus in downtown Toronto. Her undergraduate studies focused on Criminology and Political Science.

“Her excellent reputation, deep investment in the community, Canadian roots and expertise on international trade and law makes

See MAGNUS, A10

Missourians have until Sunday, May 31 to apply for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, to help with energy costs.

“I was out of work after sustaining an injury while in the military,” said LIHEAP recipient Jah Johnson. “LIHEAP helped pay the bills when I couldn’t. Because of LIHEAP I didn’t have to go without heat or electricity. If you don’t know if you should apply, take the time to educate yourself.”

Spire has a free webinar to help people apply for LIHEAP. To view the webinar or to learn more about LIHEAP and other energy assistance programs, visit Spireenergy.com/ LIHEAP. For help by phone, contact a Spire customer service representative at 1-800-582-1234.

Cathy Jenkins of Cathy’s Kitchen in Ferguson finished up a call-in order with her husband Jerome Jenkins working the deep fryer on Friday, May 22. The dining room will remain closed for the foreseeable future.

St.

St.

Sonette T. Magnus

Photo by Wiley Price

habits accordingly.

It’s also much easier to pay your friends back for lunch, setup automatic payments for your bills or rent, and cut down on all the paper clutter that gathers on your kitchen table. Your checking account comes with a debit card, allowing you to shop online or use convenient contactless payment systems, such as Samsung, Google and Apple Pay.

Get Your Paycheck

Quicker. According to a study by CareerBuilder, almost 78% of Americans are currently living paycheck to paycheck. It is important that the funds from your paycheck be available to you as quickly as possible. With a checking account, most employers allow you to set up direct deposit for paydays meaning you can skip the hassle of collecting your check, driving somewhere to get it cashed (with a fee) and finally getting your owed money. When you arrange direct deposit through your checking account, these funds are available immediately.

Keep More of Your Money. While same-day check cashing and other services do allow the unbanked to cash checks, there is often a percentage fee involved. If you are making deposits with any kind of frequency, these fees can quickly

Magnus

Continued from A9

her perfectly suited to this role,” Consul General John Cruickshank said in a statement.

“She brings a wealth of experience, and we are confident that Sonette will help nurture business opportunities for citizens on both sides of the border. Now more than ever, as we find ourselves facing

add up. By opening a standard checking account, you can avoid these transaction fees and retain more income.

No Transaction Limits. If you have a savings account, you’re typically only allowed up to six transactions in a single month. Thinking of how many small purchases the average person makes per day, this is pretty limiting. Checking accounts have no federal limits on the number of purchases or transfers you can make per month. This means you can make purchases, wire funds or move money with your account as many times as you want.

Protect your money. At the end of the day, a checking account is one of the safest and most secure ways to pay for the things you need. Keeping cash in a safe place at home might provide some safety, but your hard-earned money will still be vulnerable to robberies, fires or natural disasters. Having a debit card helps you avoid carrying around large sums of cash, and most banks offer protection in case your card is lost or stolen. Your bank also provides aid from identity theft and your funds are fully insured by the FDIC up to $250,000 per account.

To learn more information about opening a checking account, visit firstbanks.com/ thrivechecking or call (800) 760-2265.

Jon Moen is First Bank senior vice president and director of Product

the unprecedented challenges that come with managing business during a global pandemic, we need someone who can advance trade and overall engagement between Canada and St. Louis.”

At St. Louis-based Lewis Rice, Magnus represents clients in courts throughout the state and federal courts. She also practices in the Governmental Solutions and Administrative Law Department, where her experience includes implementing practical strategies to

Manning the weapons elevator

Aviation Ordnanceman 3rd Class Michael Davis, from St. Louis, operates a weapons elevator aboard the Nimitzclass aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Atlantic Ocean on May 11. The Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group remains at sea in the Atlantic as a certified carrier strike group force ready for tasking in order to protect the crew from the risks posed by COVID-19, following their successful deployment to the U.S. 5th and 6th Fleet areas of operation. Keeping the strike group at sea in U.S. 2nd Fleet allows the ship to maintain a high level of readiness during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

n “She has a broad perspective on local, state, national and international issues and is a great advisor.”

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

achieve business results and influencing public policy in the greater St. Louis area. She focuses on bridging strategic alliances between the public

and private sector, particularly shepherding public-private partnerships.

According to Lewis Rice, she “regularly creates and implements litigation strategy, always being mindful of the external factors that can influence a trial (such as geography, socio-economic realities, and jury composition).”

She counts the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis as one of her clients and serves on its Board of Directors.

“Sonette has been an exemplary member of our board

Pandemic

Continued from A9

the atmosphere inside the diner, but I hope they will be patient,” Jenkins said. “This is a new area we are treading in, and no one really knows a lot. The information we get sometimes changes every day.”

There’s a new normal for businesses emerging, particularly small businesses that rely on foot traffic, retail sales, and contact with the public. Many are making major adjustments to comply with health guidance to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Business hours are shorter, but in some instances, they are longer to accommodate customers. Staff work in staggered shifts to limit the number of people on-site. Menus and product offerings are limited or not

and attorney, helping the Urban League on multiple issues with the ultimate level of professionalism and care and compassion for our clients, mission and the entire region,” said Michael P. McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis.

“She is an excellent choice for honorary counsel with her extremely unique background. She has lived in the U.S. Canada, coming from Jamaica, so she has a broad perspective on local, state, national and international issues and is a great advisor.”

She currently serves as an adjunct associate professor of Bankruptcy, Introduction to Law and International Law Courses at Webster University, as an Advisory Board member of the Emory Bankruptcy Developments Journal, and a trustee of the Federal Practice Memorial Trust. She also is a registered lobbyist. Previously,

available. And masks and gloves for all employees are mandatory.

Priceless Hair Care Nardo’s Edition in St. Charles has changed its reopening date several times; it’s been closed since April 4. Now the barber shop is set to resume business June 1 but appointments will be limited, with no shampoo or shave services.

“It’s impossible to do social distancing, but I have to limit the skin-to-skin contact,” said barber Leonardo Price. The entire staff will also have masks and gloves and switch them out several times a day.

“I’ve reduced my availability every day so I’m taking fewer people to allow me to spread out the appointments people can book and give me more time to disinfect tools and implements and furniture between clients,” he said. And if a few customers overlap,

she clerked for Chief Judge Kathy A. Surratt-States of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. Canada and Missouri share a long and deep history and connection, both deeply marked by French and English influences.

“The cross-border relationship reflects a common history, ideals and mutual commitment to address the most challenging bilateral, multilateral and global issues of the day,” the Canadian Consulate said in a statement.

“The United States and Canada share deeply integrated economies and enjoy the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship in the world. The two countries share the goal of enhancing shared prosperity, creating jobs, protecting workers and the environment and promoting sustainable economic development.”

Price said they will have to wait in their cars for their turn. Even with precautions, Price said his fellow barbers are leery of reopening too soon. “My daughter works here too, and said she will wait it out for a little longer,” Price said. “They are loosening the rules to get the economy back going, but she’s worried about the health of her son and her own health.” Tavonna Turner had to shutter her Maryland Heights café, Cupcake Fetish, a month after its grand opening on February 21. But her main concern was making sure her co-owner and mother, Bridgette Diggs, and her stepfather were safe. Both are considered high-risk.

“We didn’t want to take anything back home to put them at risk,” Tavonna said. Her sister Yolonda Turner runs the cafe full-time now, and all of their custom cakes, cookies, cake pops and food orders are filled online using GrubHub delivery. “We really don’t have a date set to reopen yet,” Tavonna said.

At SweetArt, Bayoc is working with a skeleton crew now, as several college staff members had to move back home and are no longer in town. On opening day, she had to jump on the prep line to help fill orders. She also had to refund about 10 percent of customers that day whose orders they weren’t able to fill. By the weekend, Bayoc said they only refunded about 1 percent.

“We are wearing masks and gloves in the kitchen, and it’s hot,” Bayoc said. But the café is open, even if business feels a bit unusual right now.

“I’ve had so many ups and downs in running this business over the years,” Bayoc said, “and I said if nothing else did us in over the years, Corona will not do us in either.”

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Kelsey Trinh

The St. Louis County Police Association endorsed Mark Mantovani for St. Louis County executive in the upcoming Democratic Primary, which will be held on Tuesday, August 4. The police association represents 1,300 St. Louis County Police employees.

Mantovani is one of three Democrats challenging the incumbent, St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page. Page was not elected by the public but rather by the County Council. Last April, Steve Stenger resigned as county executive before pleading guilty to federal corruption charges. His successor, Page, was chosen by vote of the council. Page was then a councilman representing the 2nd District.

Though the police association praised Mantovani by saying he is “not a career politician,” this is the second time that he has filed for this political office. In the August 2018 primary, Mantovani ran head-to-head against the incumbent Stenger. Stenger won by just 1,100 votes in an election where nearly 200,000 Democrats voted for the office.

In August 2018, Mantovani was even less of “a career politician” than he is now, given that he was seeking public office for the first time. Stenger, on the other hand, had been working in govern-

Page

ment for 13 years, first as a municipal prosecutor, then as councilman and county executive. Still, the police association endorsed Stenger, the career politician, over Mantovani, a career financial consultant and attorney. Just seven months later, Stenger would resign in disgrace.

Stenger and Mantovani have something in common other than the police association’s endorsement. Stenger’s 2018 campaign was managed by the Kelley Group, which included Patrick Lynn. Mantovani’s 2020 campaign is managed by Patrick Lynn, working under the shingle of some difficult-to-trace group called Mindspring Strategies, which cashed a $10,000 check from the Mantovani campaign in its April quarterly report.

Stenger also was endorsed by the police association for county executive in the August 2014 primary when he ran against incumbent Charlie Dooley Ironically, Stenger –much promoted by the St. Louis PostDispatch, which also endorsed him over Dooley – ran a campaign claiming Dooley was corrupt. Dooley has never even been charged with a crime, while Stenger currently languishes in federal prison.

Though Page was first elected to the Creve Coeur City Council in 1999 and also served in the Missouri House of Representatives from 20032008 before being elected to the County Council in 2014, he is hardly a “career politician.”

A medical doctor, he was a practicing anesthesiologist for more than 20 years and took a leave of absence from his medical practice only to take on the full-time county executive role last year. Also challenging Page in August are Jake Zimmerman, currently county assessor, and a first-time candidate named Jamie Tolliver

Like Page, Zimmerman is a former state representative

SIUEEAST ST.LOUIS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL

OPEN

ENROLLMENT

FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

SIUE East St. Louis Charter High School is accepting applications for enrollment for the 2020-2021schoolyear.

To be eligible students must:

 Be age 14 through 19,

 Be in the 9th – 12th grade,

 Live in East St. Louis School District 189,

 Submit a complete application, and

 If selected, provide transcripts, physical/medical forms, proof of residency, birth certificate, and other documents.

Students will be selected bylotteryon June 8, 2020 to fill open slots bygrade level. Deadline to be included in this lottery is June 5, 2020.

The application must be completed and submitted online at https://siuecharterhighsch.wixsite.com/chs2020

For more information contact the school counselor: Pamela Saffore Phone: (618)482-8374 | Email: psaffor@siue.edu Gina Jeffries, Ed.D, Director

prior experience in law enforcement should be expected to “develop innovative initiatives to reduce violent crime.”

The county executive’s relationship to law enforcement is structurally complex.

The St. Louis County Police Department is not administered by the county executive directly but rather by a civilian Board of Police Commissioners whose five members are nominated by the county executive and approved by the County Council. The police department patrols, not all of the county, but only unincorporated St. Louis County and those municipalities that contract with the county for police services. So, for most county residents, even those who would list crime as a “top concern,” their police solutions, innovative or not, will not come from the county executive, the county police board or the county police, but rather from their municipal officials and police.

That said, how is Page doing as the official who nominates the people who oversee the police who patrol unincorporated St. Louis County and those municipalities that contract with the county for police services?

with a long career in government service; he was deputy chief counsel for Governor Bob Holden and assistant attorney general under Jay Nixon. If lack of experience in politics is what the police association wants, then Tolliver, who has never run for office before, seems best qualified by that criteria.

The message attached to this endorsement is that Mantovani is “innovative” on crime.

“Crime is the top concern for county residents,” Mantovani is quoted in the announcement of the endorsement. “As county executive, I will work in partnership with law enforcement to develop innovative initiatives to reduce violent crime.”

Mantovani provides no evidence that “crime is the top concern for county residents.” In fact, it’s a safe bet that the COVID-19 pandemic is the “top concern for county residents” along with all of the other residents of planet Earth. Further, neither the police association nor the candidate offers any evidence why this financial consultant and attorney with no

When Stenger resigned and Page was voted into office by the council, the county was in the middle of defending itself against a lawsuit filed by Sergeant Keith Wildhaber, who claimed that the county police department discriminated against him because he is gay.

Half a year into Page’s new job, a jury awarded Wildhaber nearly $20 million in damages (promoted to lieutenant, he would later settle for about half of that amount).

The police board soon had new leadership and new members, and another half-year later the county a new police chief. The new commissioners appointed by Page are William Ray Price, Michelle Schwerin, Thomasina Hassler and Dr. Laurie Punch. The County Council’s three Republicans, Tim Fitch, Mark Harder and Ernie Trakas, voted against Punch’s nomination. Punch is a trauma surgeon who identifies as “gender queer” and is emerging as a strong progressive community voice. Fitch – one wonders what he says among friends about the concept of “gender queer” – is a former county police chief who colluded with then St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch to

drag then-County Executive Charlie Dooley in the mud at every opportunity. It may be relevant that Dooley and Punch are both African-American.

Police Chief Jon Belmar, accused by Wildhaber of fostering a homophobic culture in the police department, already had announced his future retirement when the new police board majority was sworn in. Six weeks before Belmar’s retirement date of April 30, the police board named his successor: Lieutenant Colonel Mary Barton, who became the first woman to serve as the county’s top cop. “Lieutenant Colonel Barton is an experienced leader with a clear vision of an equitable future for both the department and the community we serve,” Punch stated.

Note the generic term “equitable,” which would encompass not only racial equity – a burning issue with the department for the entirety of its existence – but also gender equity (one would hope Barton could cover that base) and sexual orientation.

The short list of candidates for Belmar’s successor included two respected black police leaders, Deputy Chief Kenneth Gregory and Lieutenant Colonel Troy Doyle. Doyle came endorsed by a stunning list of black officials and citizens. Former state Representative Betty L. Thompson, one of Doyle’s many supporters, expressed disappointment in the police board – not Page, which suggested the disgruntled black advocates for Doyle are not looking for the county executive’s blood in this election year.

The police association endorsement of Mantovani, of course, will appeal to a certain kind of white voter – the white voter who might actually be more worried about crime than a pandemic in the middle of a pandemic. The endorsement –and Mantovani’s “innovative in crime” stance – will only steer most black voters

SIUEEAST ST.LOUIS CHARTER HIGH SCHOOL

601 James R. Thompson Boulevard

Phone: (618)482-8370

East St. Louis, IL 62201-1118 Fax: (618)482-8372

Mark Mantovani

“TakingCareofYou”

Leading the fight against COVID-19 – in the lab

Vaccine researcher Kizzmekia Corbett advises STEM students on pursuing their passions

By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American

The lead scientist who is researching a COVID-19 vaccine tells STEM students to stay focused, have a career support team and let their own good work be their answer to critics. Viral immunologist Kizzmekia Corbett is the scientific lead for the Coronavirus Vaccine Program at the Vaccine Research Center in Bethesda, Maryland. The center is part of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases, a subsidiary of National Institutes of Health. Corbett’s team studies coronaviruses. Her work began with the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak.

“In pandemic preparedness, our job as vaccinologists, enviro-immunologists, immu-

n “You don’t necessarily have to study health disparities or do really community-specific things, but if it’s your passion and your purpose, it will come back to you.”

– Kizzmekia Corbett

nologists, epidemiologists, is to plan ahead of time, so that we had a vaccine ready to go, in case there was a pandemic like there is now,” Corbett said. “So, what you are

witnessing when you hear things about our vaccine – which is being developed in collaboration with Moderna, a biotechnical company – is a response effort towards getting a vaccine into general population.”

During a webinar on May 11, “STEM Excellence at the Forefront of Combatting COVID-19,” Corbett talked about her work as a scientist and answered questions from students in the Emerging Researchers National (ERN) Conference in STEM, presented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

She said the type of work she does requires scientific tests and failures, and failure is something you must accept as part of

See CORBETT, A13

200 years later, Missouri is still compromising on black well-being

In 1820, Missouri was born insisting on slavery

By Karishma Furtado and Alexandra Morshed

The St. Louis American

For

Alexandra

In March of 1820, the Missouri Compromise was signed and the state of Missouri was born out of an insistence to continue systematically subjugating, devaluing black lives. The “compromise” in the name refers to the unwillingness of those in the Missouri Territory to give up slavery. To maintain the fractious balance of the young nation, Congress admitted Missouri to the union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. In Spring of 2020 –200 years later – COVID19 is revealing that we are still very much grappling with that original sin. The pandemic and its disproportionate effect on black St. Louisans is pulling back the veil on our broken and inequitable systems, underscoring the ways we continue to compromise on our shared values and how we can use this crisis as an opportunity to catalyze racial equity. Unique local data analyses in the #StillCompromising series by Forward Through Ferguson and the Prevention Research Center have identified stark local and statewide inequities in testing and, once people are infected, who is getting sickest and dying. While egregious state test rationing has made it hard for many to be tested, barriers to access – including sometimes requiring a referring physician, public transportation dif-

Contact tracing on the front lines

With stay-at-home orders lifted, following footprints of the infected is essential

By Rebecca Rivas

Of The St. Louis American

The City of St. Louis reported 25 new cases of COVID-19 on May 18. For Franda Thomas and her team of 10 disease investigators at the city’s health department, that number means a lot of phone calls, emails and digging.

“I’m not going to say 25 new cases isn’t overwhelming,” said Thomas, communicable disease bureau chief at the City of St. Louis Department of Health. “That’s 25 people, 25 phone calls and many pieces of a disease investigation. But we are trained and seasoned disease investigators, and that’s what we do.” As part of their investigation for each new COVID-19 case, Thomas’ team performs contact tracing. It’s one of the most important tools that public health officials have in reducing the spread of the virus. If someone tests positive,

n “I’m not going to say 25 new cases isn’t overwhelming. That’s 25 people, 25 phone calls and many pieces of a disease investigation.”

— Franda Thomas

Thomas’ team will try to find everyone who may have come in contact with that person and ask them to quarantine for 14 days or get tested. Her team can also monitor these people through new software, which allows the individuals to voluntarily submit information about their symptoms.

See FRONT LINES, A13

Photo: Healthcare for Missouri

Franda Thomas is the communicable disease bureau chief at the City of St. Louis Department of Health.

Kizzmekia Corbett is the scientific lead for the Coronavirus Vaccine Program at the Vaccine Research Center in Bethesda, Maryland, part of the National Institutes of Health.

Karishma Furtado

Morshed

“TakingCareofYou”

Corbett

Continued from A12 scientific research.

“One of the most grounding things in science is that 90 percent of the things that you just do are going to fail. Experiments are going to fail, or you’ll have to repeat them; manuscripts will be rejected; people sometimes don’t pass their PhD quals the first time,” Corbett said. “There is this huge bubble of failure around you, so the least you can do is have someone in your corner who can tell you, ‘You failed, but at least you did it the right way.’” That was her first bit of advice. Remembering who you are was her second.

“People are going to try and tell you who you should be,” Corbett said, “You have to remember who you are at all times.”

Corbett earned her PhD in Microbiology and Immunology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was an undergraduate double major, earning a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences and in Sociology at the University of

Front Lines

Continued from A12

During a May 19 aldermanic committee meeting, Alderman Jesse Todd (D-Ward 18) posed a scenario to Thomas. Let’s say Todd was at a neighborhood meeting — with less than 10 people gathered, of course — he wasn’t wearing a mask, and one of the people at that meeting later tested positive for COVID-19.

“Would I need to quarantine for 14 days?” Todd asked Thomas. She told him, “Yes.” However if Todd had been wearing a mask and had kept six feet apart from others, his risk of transmission would have been much lower and he would likely not have to quarantine, Thomas said. People who have been exposed can now get tested, so they don’t have to quarantine for 14 days, she said, even if they don’t have symptoms. Similarly during St. Louis County Executive Dr. Sam Page’s briefing on Wednesday, May 20, he said that the county’s contact tracers were having people who were exposed to COVID-19 get tested instead of having to quarantine for 14 days.

“The more people can get tested, the more they can move on with their lives,” Page said. However, depending on which testing location you call, you may get a different answer.

The St. Louis American called Affinia Health’s testing call

Missouri

Continued from A12 ficulties, uncertain costs, and unclear information – can be challenging for black residents because of structural inequities. These barriers have contributed to disproportionate infection and death rates.

As of May 20, 68 of the 109 victims of the pandemic and 1,091 of the 1,717 cases in the city were black. That means 62.3% of the victims and 63.5% of the cases were black people, though blacks make up 45.95% of the city’s population.

Another contributor to disproportionate infection and death lies in who is literally closest to the disease. Frontline workers in the St. Louis region (e.g., those working in healthcare, transit, building cleaning and other “essential” spaces) are 68% more likely to be black, 32% more likely to fall below the poverty line,

Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). That meant wet lab research and experience getting out into the community. Corbett found her love of chemistry, science and research during student internships that exposed her to jobs available in science technology, engineering and mathematics.

“I became a scientist, I like to say, when I was 16 years old. I was lucky enough to do an internship at the University of North Carolina,” Corbett said. “Our parents were adamant that if we had jobs in the summer, that they much be educational, and so, for whatever reason, I chose to get a job in a laboratory. It was a program called Project SEED.”

Project SEED, Summer Experiences for The Economically Disadvantaged, is a paid summer internship for high school students by the American Chemical Society that allows them to participate in research at academic, industry and government labs across the U.S. (including Saint Louis University). This year, the American Chemical Society will host a four-week, virtual summer camp because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Project SEED was directed by a military guy who was

line and (using Todd’s scenario) asked if a person could get tested if he/she were at a meeting with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The American was told, “No” — the person had to be symptomatic and testing was still prioritized for essential workers and those who are high risk. Even if the exposed individuals were tested, they still needed to quarantine for 14 days, according to the Affinia call line.

However, people answering the call lines for both CareSTL Health and Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers said that they would test the exposed individual, but the person would need to quarantine until the test results are in.

A spokeswoman for Affinia said in response to Todd’s scenario, “We follow CDC guidelines for testing, which does include testing of asymptomatic individuals in prioritized, highrisk categories.”

Each disease investigation is different, Thomas said. Some people who test positive have come in contact with dozens of people, she said, and require an extensive amount of work and hours. However, others in nursing homes and other situations are more clear-cut.

Alderwoman Cara Spencer, chair of the aldermanic Health and Human Services Committee, expressed concern that the city did not have enough people conducting these investigations during the May 19 aldermanic meeting. National experts recommend 30 tracers per 100,000 population. Based on the high-risk factors

and 12% more likely to be uninsured than non-frontline workers.

From descriptions of patients in New York City, Seattle, Louisiana, Italy, and Wuhan, we know that people who are older or have medical conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity get more sick from COVID-19 and die at a higher rate. We also know that the same systems that determine how resources and influence are distributed in a society determine who has a better shot at being healthy. During the pandemic, a person who has an underlying condition can have a harder time seeing their doctor and managing their illness. If they get a severe COVID-19 illness, they require more treatment Patients with obesity are routinely dismissed and undertreated by their healthcare providers, which for black patients comes on top of widespread race-based discrimination in healthcare.

In St. Louis city, neighbor-

in health. As a catalyst for change, the Foundation

very much into discipline and he did not play about history,” Corbett said. “We read all about the Tuskegee Experiment, did presentations, and so the historical context around fear in our community and other communities is something that is real and should not be taken lightly.”

As an undergraduate, Corbett was a Meyerhoff Scholar, a program started by Freeman Hrabowski III and sustained by benefactors Robert and Jane Meyerhoff. It was started in 1988 to get African-American men into scientific research and evolved to include women and persons of various backgrounds.

“I cannot overstate how proud my colleagues and I are of UMBC alumna Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett,” Hrabowski said in the April 2020 issue of The Business Monthly. “She is doing this life-saving work; she’s also changing the face of science. She is a dedicated mentor who actively inspires more young women, particularly women of color, to pursue science and medicine.”

In the webinar, Corbett told students it is very important to explore careers and

what interests them.

“You don’t have to really limit the types of things you are interested in,” Corbett said. “All of these things kind of come together in one way or another, because this is how interdisciplinary the world is becoming. You don’t necessarily have to study health disparities or have to do really community-specific things, but if it’s your passion and your purpose, it will always come back to you.”

She also said to reach out to professionals in fields of interest.

“Find out who are the people doing the very niche kind of stuff that you are doing,” Corbett said. “Find those people, contact those people and ask them how they melded all of it together. And you’ll find that it really was jelling little pieces of information together for the good and really specializing in one thing.”

She said that it is helpful to develop a support system that includes mentors and supportive people throughout the entire trajectory of your career.

“From a professional-development standpoint, find the two or three people who really see the scientist in you before they see most other things,” Corbett

said. “I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that they just don’t talk good to me, but they talk good about me to everyone else.”

She describes her mentors as her career committee, and committee members change over time.

“You have to be able to be honest, firstly, with yourself about what you want out of a mentor,” Corbett said, adding that mentoring should be of mutual benefit. “If you can’t really determine what you can offer a mentor, then perhaps that actually means that they can’t really offer as much as you thought.”

Corbett, a North Carolina native, said the things she would tell her younger self would be the importance of reading books, like “The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table; saving money; and honing presentation and writing skills as early as possible.

When asked about the potential for backlash when speaking too loudly or too passionately about the community to which you feel indebted, she said to speak up, but have the work to back up what you say.

“Your voice sometimes is

facing the city’s population, she said the city should have 90 tracers, but it has only 10. Now that stay-at-home orders have lifted, the investigations are going to be more time-consuming, she said, and people are coming in contact with more and more people.

St. Louis County has a lower rate of infection, she said. However, there are 80 to 90 people currently doing contact tracing for the health department, according to a county spokesperson, though not all are working full-time. The county also is hiring an average of 10 new public health staff members each week. Vigorous testing and contact tracing must be part of the city’s strategy, as

hoods with the highest rates of COVID-19 risk factors are located north of the Delmar Divide. Place, marginalization, and access to opportunity meaningfully shape a person’s health, so it’s no surprise that COVID-19 underlying conditions cluster within certain neighborhoods. The same neighborhoods where many black St. Louis families live, love, work, and create are the neighborhoods where over 100 years of policies and practices of segregation by St. Louis and Missouri decision-makers have created a disturbing pattern. This disinvestment results in higher poverty and lower economic opportunity, food access, access to insurance, mobility, and air quality.

well, in lifting the stay-at-home order, Spencer said.

“If that doesn’t happen,” Spencer said, “the steps in reopening could be reversed and the city closed down due to more positive tests, more people sick and, most unfortunately, more deaths.”

Thomas said that her team could use more help, but she is not sure if she needs 90 people — at least not as of May 20, she joked. A spokesman for the city health department said they are discussing how to bring on additional volunteers to conduct contact tracing.

During the May 19 meeting, Alderwoman Sharon Tyus asked Thomas if her team receives pushback from people

n We need transformative solutions like living-wage policies, universal early childhood education, decarceration, and affordable housing to address the cycle of disadvantage.

Black Americans die from COVID-19 at higher rates in St. Louis and other cities and counties across the nation. These disparities, while tragic are unsurprising and far from accidental – rather they reflect the health, social, and economic inequities present in our society. In the short term, the just answer to the injustice of a higher burden of underlying COVID-19 risk factors in black communities is to allocate a higher amount of resources to these communities. This means putting in place sufficient testing, surveillance, mitigation strategies, and economic and healthcare safety nets in these communities. It also means that any plans for rationing

the only thing that you have. Every single thing else, people can take away. As long as you learn a way of being tactful, and understand that your work speaks for you too,” Corbett said. “People are going to know what type of impact you make just by making sure that your work is good and that you stand out in the way that you address the issues that you are interested in addressing.”

When asked about responding to haters on social media, Corbett took exception to calling them haters.

“Criticism is something that – as hard as it is to take sometimes – it is something that we should all heed to, no matter from whom it comes,” Corbett said. “Of course, everyone does not have your best interests at heart.”

Corbett said her parents reminded her that when her scholarships were announced in high school, some people booed.

“People are going to hate what they can’t compete with, period. Just let your work speak for itself and keep it moving. That’s all you can do,” Corbett said. “Some people are never going to be satisfied, and so that’s why you’re going to have to satisfy yourself.”

Nasheed distributes free masks and sanitizer

State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed (D-St. Louis) spoke to a constituent in apparent need of a protective mask when she distributed more than 40,000 free face masks and bottles of hand sanitizer at the MOKAN Construction Contractors Assistance Center in in the city’s Penrose neighborhood on May 20. “Wearing a mask and using hand sanitizer are two ways individuals can help reduce the spread of COVID-19,” Nasheed said.

when they ask them to disclose the names of people they have been in contact with. Thomas replied that they did.

“There have been times when people say, ‘I really don’t want to give you a list. I know this person cannot afford to be out under quarantine — they’ll lose their job.’ Or ‘I don’t know how this will go over with my employer.’”

Some people also don’t trust the government, she said, and don’t want to talk to them. In those cases, they can try to investigate their “footprint” and go to their employer directly.

Tyus said even if investigators don’t disclose the name of the employee, it is likely that the employer would know who

care or public health resources must not be colorblind and must explicitly incorporate a racial equity lens.

In the long term, the pandemic presents an opportunity to dismantle the systems and structures that create health inequities in black communities. We must put in place and then go beyond actions that compensate for the current systems. It is transformative solutions like living-wage policies, universal early childhood education, decarceration, and affordable housing that will address the cycle of disadvantage and thus the root causes of disease. St. Louis has no shortage of bold, community-based policy reports on how to create a region where all have the opportunity to thrive. We know what needs to be done. As the pandemic continues to unfold, our region’s best hope for fighting back is information paired with a strong commitment to racial equity. Forward Through

the employee is. Thomas said they were aware of that. Thomas said her team also has been able to put people in touch with social services to make it possible for them to quarantine. The Integrated Health Network has been a helpful partner in connecting people who don’t have primary health care providers with Federally Qualified Health Centers, such as CareSTL Health and People’s. They have also been working with places that provide home meals to make sure those quarantined at home still have access to food. Thomas said, “We exhaust all options to decrease exposure and give the resources they need.”

Ferguson will continue to point a spotlight on the disparate impact of COVID-19 on “essential” workers, the economy, and education through the #StillCompromising series. We must support community demands for more equitable treatment and investment, like the Ready by Five coalitions push for fair resources and support for early childhood educators.

Almost six years after the Ferguson unrest, it is long overdue for our decision-makers to not only apply a racial equity lens in word, but to actively demonstrate their commitment to equity with resources and action.

Karishma Furtado, PhD, MPH, is the data and research catalyst for Forward Through Ferguson. Alexandra Morshed, PhD, MS, is a postdoctoral research associate at the Prevention Research Center in St. Louis at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis.

Photo by Wiley Price

Riverview Gardens celebrates Class of 2020 with a parade

The Riverview Gardens School District honored the Class of 2020 with a parade on Friday, May 22. The parade featured signs, music and a stage for its approximately 240 graduates to walk across. The event allowed the Riverview Gardens High School Class of 2020, the first to graduate under the leadership of Principal Traci Nave, to celebrate their achievements while practicing social distancing.

The graduates, who were awarded more than $2.5 million in scholarships, will matriculate to Morehouse College, St. Louis University, Texas Southern University, Chicago State University, St. Louis Community College, Alabama State University, Grabber School of Hair Design and Clark Atlanta University.

Jayden Keys, who will attend Morehouse College, is the 2020 valedictorian.

Samya Simpson, who will attend Texas Southern University, is the 2020 salutatorian.

Gentle giant of local black theatre remembered

Unity Theatre Ensemble founder Ralph Greene passes at 78

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Ralph Greene, a pioneering producer of black theater known for his cultivation of talent for the stage through Unity Theatre Ensemble, passed away on May 15.

His death came after a series of health challenges that stemmed from a pair of strokes he suffered nearly ten years ago. He was 78. Just as she was with every production as Unity’s Managing Director, his wife Bonnie Harmon was right by his side.

“‘We unite for the success of the show.’ This was the mantra that Greene had the casts of Unity Theatre Ensemble productions repeat before every performance,” Harmon said. “The company of actors and technicians were the instruments and

See Greene, B2

‘The feel-good movie of quarantine’

Kelvin Harrison Jr. of ‘The High Note’ praises new film with Tracee Ellis Ross

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

Kelvin Harrison Jr. knew from the feeling that overcame him and co-star Tracee Ellis Ross when listening to rough cuts of songs from the soundtrack that they had found something special in “The High Note.” They laughed. They cried. They connected with their respective roles in an indescribable way.

“I think it was that moment dancing with Tracee and doing fake choreography,” Harrison said. “Singing along to songs with our voices

on them was kind of the most insane thing that has happened. We both knew we were in it –and we knew it was something special.”

Harrison is confident that the same energy will wash over everyone who watches the film when it lands on demand May 29. Originally set for a theatrical release, COVID-19 had other plans. But he feels that audiences will be thrilled that the release will go on through their screens at home.

“If you are looking for a good laugh, if you are looking for a good cuddle – even if it’s just with your pillow; if you are looking to see Tracee Ellis Ross give nostalgic Diana Ross moments; if you are looking for the feel good

movie of quarantine, then ‘The High Note’ is your movie.” Harrison and Ross seemed destined to play their respective roles. In the film, Ross is Grace Davis – a pop diva at a crossroads in her career as she faces middle age. Harrison plays David, an aspiring singer who catches the eye of Davis’ assistant as she seeks out talent to hone her craft as a producer. The relationship dynamics between Davis’ assistant Molly, played by Dakota Johnson, Davis’ manager, played by Ice Cube and

See Movie, B2

‘Bubbling Brown Sugar’ bumped to Season 45

Black Rep’s season delayed, annual gala

By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American

COVID-19 has continued to bring bad news to the arts community as social distancing precautions make the traditional audience experience not in the best interest of the health of patrons.

On the Friday before Memorial Day, The Black Rep announced that it had made the painful decision to push its fall musical, the immensely popular black Broadway classic “Bubbling Brown Sugar” to the front of season 45 as opposed to the fall production for the start of season 44 – which is now set to start in January 2021.

“We were looking forward to opening with Bubbling Brown Sugar, but we’re not sure what the world post-COVID will be,” said Ron Himes, founder and producing director of The Black Rep. “But we know things will not be business as usual.” Even if they had been able to present a September show, Himes said that they were in talks of a substitute for “Bubbling,” a musical that the Black Rep has been producing for much of its

40-plus years.

Favorites J. Samuel Davis and Drummond K. Crenshaw were set to return. Himes admitted that the original plans to move forward with the show were bittersweet because it would have been the first time in the company’s history that the show would have been without

“We had all done it so many times when we were too young for the role,” Himes said. “Now she would have really been a sassy Irene Page.” With its large cast, intricate set, full band,

Ron Himes with rapper-turned-actor Tef Poe on the set of Ntozake Shange’s “Spell #7.” The popular production became the final show of season 43, when an extended run of the play was shut down and the season finale of “Marie and Rosetta” was canceled due to COVID-19.

the show was a huge risk with respect to box office returns as people would still be tiptoeing into patronizing activities that present a challenge to social distancing.

The company was mindful of this when they decided to restructure their annual fall gala – which typically takes place in November –into a virtual event. The gala will take place on November 14, with details released as the event nears.

Himes says that the silver lining in the impact of COVID-19 is that his board is active and energized in their efforts to make sure that

Black Rep leading lady Linda Kennedy in the role of Irene Page.

Kelvin Harrison Jr.

Ralph Greene

being unified gave strength and effectiveness to the message being conveyed to the audience.”

Unity was renowned for offering a platform for aspiring stage performers.

“Mr. Greene with his wife Bonnie at his side changed my life and the lives of so many people who decided to step onto a performance stage,” said singer and actress Mardra Thomas. “He was a gentle giant who poured his beautiful spirit and wisdom into so many people and kick-started careers from SIUE’s Broadway campus to ‘Broadway’ and beyond. When challenged with changes, he taught me how to make adjustments – on the stage and in life.

A native of Jacksonville, Florida and an accomplished director of theater, playwright, lyricist and arts administrator, in 1971, Greene founded Kutana Players as a graduate assistantship project while he studied at Southern University at Carbondale. His intention was to give African American theater majors a chance to grace the stage in roles beyond the stereotypical characters of butlers and maids.

In 1974, Greene served as stage manager for the theater and music departments collaborative production of Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha.”

The guest director, Miss Katherine Dunham, invited Greene to come and develop the theater training component

at the Performing Arts Training Center at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, East St. Louis Center.

“For him, theater was not just entertainment,” Harmon said. “But a way to teach, inspire, motivate and to sometimes question its audience.”

From September 1974 to February 1996, his troupe was the resident theater company at the Katherine Dunham Center for the Performing Arts (KDCPA).

“Back in the day I had the privilege of working with Ralph Greene and The Kutana Players,” said Ron

all those people and watching the audience stand up during the musical. That’s how great they were. The feeling that comes out of song and performance is like nothing else.”

David make for music industry insight and a romantic comedy that tugs at heart strings from beyond just the romance. Harrison has been making a splash on the film scene in the past couple of years, particularly with his role in the film “Waves” – which co-stars St. Louis’ own Sterling K. Brown. He is also a member of the ensemble of the highly anticipated “Chicago Seven.” But “The High Note” presented a new opportunity for him in that he was able to marry his love of acting with his love of singing.

“It is the ultimate when it comes to expressing yourself,” Harrison said. “That’s why I love musicals so much. I remember sitting in ‘Dreamgirls’ when I was a kid and listening to Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson and

The son of highly regarded musicians in his native New Orleans, Harrison got his start in musicals. He starred in “Hairspray” with his little siter. “I played Stevie and she played little Inez,” Harrison said. “That was such a magical experience and this movie allowed me to do that through film – which is my new love. It’s been such a rewarding experience and an even greater gift to be able to do it with Tracee.”

It’s no easy feat – especially when it comes to finding the voice of a character as opposed to just singing as he would as a musician.

Himes, founder and producing director of The St. Louis Black Repertory Company.

“His direction strengthened my foundation as a young artist attempting to develop his craft.”

In September 1979, the company’s name was changed from Kutana Players (“Kutana” is Swahili for “coming together”) to Unity Ensemble and, in 1984, to Unity Theatre Ensemble.

After their partnership with the Dunham Center ended, Unity headed across the water to St. Louis where they called Greeley’s 23rd Street Theatre home until the space closed in

2002. They produced countless shows within the canon of African American theater, created original work and sometimes adapted musical films for the stage – such as “Sparkle.” They continued to produce shows at other venue spaces, most recently at the Ivory Theatre.

Watching Greene during rehearsal was fascinating, because he bucked every negative stereotype of the neurotic process and antics often associated with directors.

“He rarely raised his voice and always sought to keep harmony amidst the chaos,” Harmon said “He knew that

everything would come together for a successful outcome. And somehow it always did!”

He was so nurturing and supportive that many who were groomed for the stage through Unity refer to Greene and Harmon as their “theater mother” and theater father.”

Actor and singer Herman Louis Gordon Jr. is one of them.

“He took a chance on me back in 1998 – my first professional show,” said Gordon. “He pushed and trained. I never thought I would work in theater. I just wanted to sing. Now I can’t get away from it.”

And for everything he poured into his “theater children,” his son Ralph E. Greene Jr., received a double portion.

“My father was an artist in every sense of the word, “said the younger Greene. “My life was spent watching him write and produce show after show to support his family and to put out his art.”

He followed in his father’s footsteps into the entertainment industry, currently working as supervising producer for the Netflix series, Family Reunion:

“He worked tirelessly to present theater that entertained, inspired and most importantly to him… taught,” said Ralph Greene Jr. “He was a teacher in his soul. A soft-spoken man who let his works do his talking. Through the years he touched many people’s lives through his art and direction. He made people believe in themselves and he gave back in the form of community outreach projects.”

The last show he directed was Unity’s “Everything Must Change.” The musical revue also featured poetry, dance and prose – and starred some of the company veterans. The show was a fitting final curtain for a man who had been producing theater that offers context and celebration of the black experience for nearly a halfcentury.

“He will be missed, but his spirit will stay alive in those he touched,” Himes said. Harmon vows to carry on his vision and the company that they poured into as life and work partners.

“Greene and I were united until the end,” Harmon said. “I will miss him greatly in the body, but I know he will be with me every step of the way as we continue his work.” He was preceded in death by his father, Major Greene; mother, Irazona Knight-Greene; brother, Isaac Greene; and sister, Angie Nora GreeneBarlow; and stepdaughter, Marie Girardeau-Bianchetta.

A memorial fund will be established in his name to honor and continue his legacy with the goal to support developing young playwrights and performing artists. Because of the current social distancing requirements, a legacy memorial will be planned for some time in the future when it is clearly safe again for large gatherings. Expressions of condolence can be sent to Unity Theatre Ensemble at P.O. Box 1035, Florissant, Missouri 63031 or to 1832 Partridge Berry Drive, Florissant, Missouri, 63031.

trayal of Davis as he did.

Jerkins was critical.

“He has worked with Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson and the list goes on,” Harrison said. “He knew what he had to do to get it out of me. He knew what that young, scared artist looks like. He helped me make those words mine – as if I wrote them. Who am I singing this to? That experience with him really changed the way I looked at music and approach music.”

“I want people to know who they are and what they have to offer,” Harrison said. “That was one of the things I respected about Tracee’s performance of the character of Grace was that this was a woman who knew she had a gift. She knew she had something to share and she knew people needed it and wanted it – and she never allowed the industry to dictate to her what that was going to be.”

“David is a little more pop. We were really trying to figure out where his voice sat,” Harrison said. “We did a variety of different sounds. Some were a little more boy band or a little more rock – or a little more traditional pop or soul. I had to keep transforming my voice to see what it would sound like.”

Working with Grammywinner Rodney Jerkins, who produced the soundtrack, helped him find David’s voice. Through the process, Harrison

learned a lot about how you find storytelling in song.

“I think that what I was lacking as an artist was not knowing how to personalize the story within the song,” Harrison said. “I learned how to do that with acting, but I hadn’t figured out how to do it with music yet.” Being in the studio with

He felt parallels within the character surrounding his own upbringing and the insecurities regarding his musical talent because of it.

“My parents are wonderful musicians and I was scared,” Harrison said. “I was like, ‘What if I don’t live up to that expectation? I didn’t have that mindset of perseverance. I wanted to run away from it. That’s why I did acting. By doing this film I wanted to perpetuate perseverance – that it does work if you commit.”

He hopes that people find as much inspiration in Ross’ por-

Black Rep

Continued from B1

The Black Rep is not a casualty of the pandemic – and not only survives but thrives.

“Philanthropy will have a lot to do with how we come out of this,” Himes said. “Our capacity to fundraise and garner the kind of corporate and foundation support that is so integral to us being able to do the work we’ve been able to do.”

He had to end his season early, but this time of year is typically set aside for rest, rejuvenation, restoration and strategy.

“Our season would just now be ending,” Himes said.

“It’s not like some of those other companies – likes Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, St. Louis Shakespeare and The Muny – who had shows scheduled to open next month.”

He believes the film will lend the opportunity for audiences to remind themselves that they have so much to bring to the table – and to not limit themselves or diminish their light because of other people’s insecurities and their attempt to control their narrative.

“Own your own story,” Harrison said. “And you don’t need to wait for someone to give you license to step into what you feel called, led or gifted to do.”

The High Note will be released on demand on Friday, May 29. The film is rated PG-13 with a running time of 113 minutes. For more information, visit https://www.focusfeatures.com/the-high-note.

Shange’s “Spell #7,” and multidisciplinary artists Kristian Blackmon and Cheeraz Gormon.

“We are brainstorming right now,” Himes said. “Meeting and talking about possible projects and hopefully come out with something in the fall that might not call for us to need a full theatre – that might call for us to be in a space that would be limited capacity. In experimenting with the piece, we would also experiment as far as how and where we would produce it.”

Another bright side for Himes is that moving “Bubbling Brown Sugar” already has him looking forward to season 45.

He’s reading plays, shuffling schedules and discussing alternative options depending what budgets will allow.

Himes is also using this opportunity to team up with other artists and producers.

He has formed a cohort with Tef Poe, who made his Black Rep stage debut in Ntozake

“We will already know what season 45 is because a couple of things we had been looking forward to using this upcoming season will move to next season,” Himes said. As he meets and discusses what’s to come with the artistic and production partners that will help him stage season 44 and 45, Himes is in fantastic spirits.

“I’m hopeful. I’m optimistic and like James Brown said, ‘I feel good.’”

For mor information on The Black Rep, visit www.theblackrep.org.

Unity Theatre Ensamble in a past performance of “I Got The Music In Me.”

Kelvin Harrison Jr. and Dakota Johnson in “The High Note.”

Be a Tourist in Your Own Town

St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission

What will recovery look like for St. Louis businesses?

Introducing the STL Regional Business Recovery Initiative

By Barry Draper Of Explore St. Louis

As stay-at-home orders come to an end and the economy begins to slowly reopen, we asked ourselves: what will recovery look like for St. Louis businesses? As a response to that question and others, the STL Regional Business Recovery Initiative was born.

ings, retail, salons, gyms, and more. The goal is preparation: policies put in place now will assist the community as it prepares for a successful reopening; for example:

The Initiative will accelerate the conversation and planning of protocols between industry and public health leaders. This is to ensure that upon the reopening of businesses, everyone will be following the same safety procedures and guidelines so that visitors, locally and beyond, feel safe and comfortable when visiting St. Louis area institutions.

Developed in collaboration with the St. Louis Development Corporation, Explore St. Louis, the St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, the St. Louis Regional Chamber, business stakeholders and economic development representatives from 15 surrounding counties, the STL Regional Business Recovery Initiative assists leaders in creating health and safety protocols and guidelines for key industries throughout the region. These protocols have been developed in cooperation with public health officials to help guide the reopening of businesses in the community at such a time as public officials permit.

As part of the recovery plan, the Initiative is convening small working groups and consulting industry experts throughout multiple industries including restaurants, hotels, entertainment venues and attractions, commercial office build-

As protocols are developed they will be posted on Explore St. Louis’ Road to Recovery web site https://explorestlouis.com/theroad-to-recovery-in-st-louis/.

Recovery is sure to be a challenge. But we are working together so we will get this right and build a stronger tomorrow for St. Louis.

About the STL Regional Recovery Initiative: Convened by the St. Louis Development Corporation, these organizations are dedicated to leading the safe and responsible re-opening of the region’s businesses: Arch to Park, City of O›Fallon, City of St. Charles, City of St. Louis, Civic Progress. Downtown STL, Inc., Economic Development Center of St. Charles County, Explore St. Louis, Franklin County, Jefferson County, Leadership Council Southwestern Illinois, Madison County, Missouri Department of Economic Development, North County Incorporated, Small Business Empowerment Center, St. Charles County, St. Clair County, St. Louis Community Foundation, St. Louis County, St. Louis Development Corporation, St. Louis Economic Development Partnership, St. Louis Regional Business Council, St. Louis Regional Chamber, St. Louis Regional Economic Development Alliance. Barry Draper is director of Partnership Services

Summer fun and learning at the Missouri History Museum — online

By Ellen Kunkelmann Of Missouri Historical Society

Although Missouri Historical Society’s three locations—the Missouri History Museum, the Library & Research Center, and the Soldiers Memorial Military Museum—remain closed to visitors for now, MHS continues to offer educational and entertaining programs that help St. Louisans connect with their city and with each other. All programs are offered free of charge via the Zoom video conference app. Join by visiting mohistory.org/ events, then clicking on an event title or calendar date to access the program’s Zoom link. Every Monday, the previous week’s programs will be uploaded to MHS’s YouTube channel at youtube.com/user/ MissouriHistory/playlists. Due to copyright restrictions, Storytelling programs cannot be added to YouTube. Here are just a few of the programs offered for the next two weeks. For more information about these and other upcoming programs, visit mohistory.org/events.

For Younger Children Fridays at 10:30 a.m. Storytelling programs are recommended for children ages 2 to 5 and their families. Storytelling takes place virtually each Friday from 10:30 to 11 a.m. On the second and fourth Fridays of the month, there will also be a Spanish-language virtual storytelling program from 11 to 11:30 a.m.

For the Entire Family

The Summer Family Fun series offers free, interactive 45-minute workshops inspired by local history.

Monday, June 1, at 10:30 a.m.

So St. Louis: Family Fun Yoga with the Collective STL Looking for some fun and healthy mental and physical family activities? This St. Louis history–themed yoga class is for all ages and abilities. We will explore the Eads Bridge pose, Mississippi River Boat pose, World’s Fair Observation Wheel pose, Frankie Muse Freeman Warrior One pose, and many others.

Monday, June 8, at 10:30 a.m. Play St. Louis: Sports and Games Find new ways to stay active

as we learn about the history of play in St. Louis, plus games and sports you can enjoy with your family. These activities are developed for second through sixth graders, but all ages are encouraged to participate.

For Adults

Thursday, May 28, at 6 p.m.

The Broken Heart of America: St. Louis and the Violent History of the United States: A Discussion with Author Walter Johnson Author Walter Johnson will provide a glimpse into his newest book, said to be “a searing portrait of the racial dynamics that lie inescapably at the heart of our nation, told through the turbulent history of the city of St. Louis.”

Friday, May 29, at 2 p.m.

The Mississippi River Is for the Birds! Join Director of Audubon Center at Riverlands Ken Buchholz to learn about bird migration and what we can do as St. Louisans to make our region even better for birds and people.

Wednesday, June 3, at 12 p.m.

Soldiers Memorial Chow & Chat: Dispatches of D-Day In his new book, Dispatches of D-Day, historian Jared Frederick unearths hundreds of accounts from period newspapers and revives the lost voices of the momentous struggle to liberate Western Europe from Nazi tyranny. Learn more about the soldiers and the home-front civilians who were dramatically affected by what Dwight Eisenhower called “the great crusade.”

Thursday, June 4, at 6 p.m. Pride DJ Night

Join St. Louis DJs for an entertaining musical segment as they share their favorite tracks from popular LGBTQ+ nightclubs of years gone by. While you listen, Curatorial Assistant Ian Darnell will share historic images of St. Louis LGBTQ+ nightlife.

Friday, June 5, at 2 p.m.

Discovery Tour: Movers and Makers Celebrate St. Louis’s long history of women-owned businesses! Join Senior Curator Hattie Felton and Community Initiatives Specialist Emily Underwood to discover—and rediscover—the stories of women who have taken businesses into their own hands.

Tuesday, June 9, at 11 a.m. True Crime Many people are riveted by true crime, and you don’t have to dig too deep to uncover fascinating stories of crime and criminals throughout St. Louis’s past. Learn about some of the most daring thefts, shocking murders, and notorious mobsters in St. Louis history.

Thursday, June 11, at 6 p.m. Black Music Month Spotlight with the National Museum of African American Music The National Museum of African American Music is scheduled to open its doors to the public in September in Nashville, Tennessee. Join the museum’s curatorial director, Dr. Dina Bennett, and curator Dr. Steven Lewis to discuss the importance of Black Music Month and to learn about the St. Louis artists who are featured in the museum’s collection.

MHS looks forward to seeing you online for now—and in person in the future!

Guest Columnist Barry Draper

Religion

Dr. Echols seeks to develop Clergy Advisory Board

City Department of Health wants dialogue with pastors, congregations

By Chris King Of The St. Louis American

The City of St. Louis

Department of Health is looking for a few good pastors – a few more good pastors – to advise it.

“Because not all faith leaders share the same mutual interest in specific health issues, it’s important that the board have a geographically, racially, gender, and ethnically diverse makeup,” Dr. Fredrick Echols, director of health for the City of St. Louis, stated in a release. Religious leaders interested in serving on the City of St. Louis Clergy Advisory Board can email their statement of interest to the Department of Health at health@stlouis-mo. gov.

According to Echols, the health equity principle of Optimum Health For All is the pillar the new advisory board will build its internal infrastructure on.

Though race-based disparities have been evident in data for as long as such data has been reported, with “For the Sake of All” (2013) being the landmark study, these disparities were made painfully evident as data from the COVID-19 pandemic began to

be reported. As of May 20, 68 of the 109 victims of the pandemic and 1,091 of the 1,717 cases in the city were black. That means 62.3% of the victims and 63.5% of the cases were black people, though blacks make up 45.95% of the city’s population. The board was announced on May 11 with a clerical membership that includes Dr. Kanika Turner, Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten, Bishop Nelson Watts Jr., Rev. Cornelius Moore, Rev. Anthony Witherspoon, Rev. Richard McDuffie, Rev. Dr. Julius Sims, Rev. B. T. Rice, Evangelist Pam Rice, and Rev. Roderick Burton. Additional community lead-

ers on the board are Lisa Potts, with the St. Louis Mental Health Board; Rose Jackson of the Behavioral Health Network; and Bonnie

Echols said the board has begun internal discussions on priorities, mission, goals, and identifying the unique capabilities faith communities can

“We

– Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten

contribute to efforts to address health inequities and achieve healthier outcomes for the St.

Dr. Fredrick Echols, director of health for the City of St. Louis, crossed Market Street with a staffer carrying COVID19 test specimens from unhoused people camping in Poelker Park across from City Hall on Thursday, April 30.

Echols announced the health department’s Clergy Advisory Board on May 11.

by Wiley Price

Louis region.

St. Louis is a very diverse city, so the advisory board is also examining gaps that might need to be addressed in its makeup, hence the open call for more members.

Echols said that working collaborations with nontraditional partners is not new for public health agencies. Health departments working with faith-based organizations is a proven best practice in reaching at risk, minority, and other vulnerable populations.

“In order to find and implement long term solutions to the numerous social determinates of health in St. Louis,” Echols stated, “religious leaders must be included in the dialogue and

engaged in the work of creating communities that support optimal health for all.” The board evolved from Echols reaching out to several influential clergy leaders in St. Louis to present an informational briefing on the virus’ impact on the community and to identify available resources that could benefit the St. Louis faith community.

“To improve health outcomes in the city we must move away from offering health improvement solutions (developed in silos) to the community and move towards working with the community to develop effective solutions,” Echols stated. “The faith community can be instrumental in helping us make that transition.”

A consensus was reached for a Clergy Advisory Board to meet with Echols twice per month about the virus, with the goal of discussing public safety protocols, access to resources, and presenting feedback to the Department of Health from the various church congregations.

“We are blessed to have Dr. Echols helping to direct our efforts at informing our congregations about safety precautions, testing, and where to go for resources and medical help,” stated Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten, pastor at Williams Temple Church of God in Christ and president of the Ecumenical Leadership Council—St. Louis Chapter. “We look forward to working with him in the future on other public health issues.” For more information about the City of St. Louis Department of Health Clergy Advisory Board, email health@ stlouis-mo.gov or call 314-6571568.

Reece, executive

director of Hope House STL (formerly St. Louis Transitional Hope House).

Photo

Sports

SportS EyE

With Alvin A. Reid

Bill White deserves St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame induction

Bill White, who would later become the first black MLB television broadcaster in 1971 when he worked for the New York Yankees, played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 195965 and was a member of the 1964 World Series champion team. He returned to St. Louis and played in 48 games, mostly as a pinch hitter, in 1969. White, second baseman Tommy Herr and pitcher John Tudor are now members of the Cardinals Hall of Fame - and White is puzzled as to why. In fact, longtime Cardinals columnist and sports writer Rick Hummel reported last week that White tried several times to have his name removed from the ballot.

“My honest feeling is I shouldn’t be in,” White told Hummel.

“There are guys who have done a helluva lot more than I did. I don’t have the stats to be in. I didn’t play long enough, didn’t get enough base hits, didn’t drive in enough runs, didn’t hit enough home runs. Whatever.” White is downplaying his success with the Cardinals. While he wasn’t here his entire career, White’s production during six seasons make him, at least, a qualified candidate.

First, he won six Gold Gloves. This was in an era when there were excellent defensive first basemen throughout the National League.

organization and after he was traded to St. Louis in 1959.

White wrote, “I vividly remember having to eat my dinner on the team bus while my white teammates (on a minor league team from Iowa) were eating in a ‘whites only’ restaurant during a road trip in Kansas in 1954.”

“Even black major league players, men at the top of their profession, weren’t spared those kinds of indignities. When I started playing for the Cardinals in 1959, the team’s black players – great players like Bob Gibson, Curt Flood, George Crowe and others –weren’t allowed to stay in the team hotel during spring training in St. Petersburg, Florida. Instead we were put up in a boarding house in the ‘black section’ of town.

“Many white players and team owners were indifferent to the restrictions placed on black players. The prevailing attitude was, “That’s just the way it is. We’re not politicians or lawyers. There’s nothing we can do.’”

Calling it “a difficult time,”

White said Gibson, Flood and other black players on the Cardinals and throughout MLB began speaking out against the segregation and Jim Crow laws that baseball accepted during Spring Training in Florida.

facilities.

In 1,113 games as a Cardinal, White hit .298 with 140 home runs and 631 RBIs.

1962, White collected 200 hits and batted a career-high .324 with 27 home runs and 109 RBIs. During the 1964 championship season, White hit 21 home runs and drove in 102 runs.

Regardless of statistics and longevity with the team, White deserves his honor as much (or more) for his off-field performance as he does for on-field.

In 2011, White said in a column for CNN.com that the Cardinals, like most MLB teams, allowed black players to be treated as second-class citizens in the South and other parts of the country when he was in the minors in the New York/San Francisco Giants

“It wasn’t an easy thing to do. This was before baseball free agency, a time when the “reserve clause” gave team owners complete control over a player’s career. A player who was thought to be too outspoken – the word ‘uppity’ was sometimes used – ran the risk of being sent down to the minors or released. But we felt it had to be done,” he wrote.

“It worked. As the story went national, pressure built on major league teams to do something. In the Cardinals’ case, when the team hotel in St. Petersburg still refused to admit blacks, the team leased a small beachfront motel for the entire team.”

More MLB teams changed their policies and the Players Association voted unanimously to refuse to play in any city that required black and white players to use separate living

A decade later, Flood was dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies, even though he was not under contract. He legally challenged the “reserve clause,” ultimately losing his case at the U.S Supreme Court. It cost him the latter years of his baseball career, but it opened the door to free agency and the multi-million-dollar guaranteed contracts MLB players now sign.

White closed his column by stating, “Looking back on it a half-century later, of all the things I did in baseball, being a part of that (Civil Rights) struggle is the thing of which I am most proud.”

Seeing he did many of those things as a Cardinal, he should be more than proud to be in the franchise’s Hall of Fame. His devotion to equality in baseball should also be mentioned early and often during the Hall of

Fame celebration in August.

The rise of Troy

NFL executive V.P. of football operations Troy Vincent is tired of excuses when it comes to minority hiring in the NFL.

He told Peter King of Football Morning in America, “The facts are, we have a broken system Do I take it personal? Yes, I do.

“It’s my responsibility as a professional athlete, as a man of color, as someone who bleeds the National Football League, bleeds football, it’s part of our responsibility to continue what we believe is right for our game. “ He called out some owners and general managers for their continued sidestepping on the issue of too few black coaches and GMs in the NFL.

“[S]itting in these meetings, listening, hearing people

By Earl Austin Jr.

American

Louis

Of the St.

During my 35 years of covering high school sports in the St. Louis metro area, I have had the honor of watching many great young athletes perform on the big stage and it has been fun. When you have been around as long as I have, it’s natural that you start to see some of the children of those athletes come on to the scene. With that in mind, I have compiled a list of top athletes along with their children who I have covered over the course of my career. This is by no means a complete list, but it’s a good one to start. This is Part I of the list.

Justin Tatum-Jayson Tatum: Justin Tatum was a starting power forward for the CBC Cadets and a big part of their run to the Class 4A state championship in 1997. He was a

champing at the bit to interview for a job.

“Two years out of college I was coaching in the NFL. So, I had nine years of NFL experience, and so I know what that’s about,” he told NBC Sports Network’s ‘Lunch Time Live.’

Bill White played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1959-65 and was a member of the 1964 World Series champion team.

give different excuses, like:

‘This is not the right platform,’ or ‘Troy, Commissioner (Goodell), I hear what you’re trying to do — not sure this is the right vehicle but we understand.’”

“Those are the same words that they told people in my community in the fifties, the forties, about integration of school systems, housing — but not giving us any solutions. “

Standing up for Stanford

Stanford coach David Shaw was a four-year letter-winning receiver at Stanford (1991-94) before becoming an NFL assistant coach for nine seasons.

Shaw’s name comes up annually as a candidate for open NFL positions, but the African-American leader of the Cardinal football program takes a “been there, done that” attitude when asked why he isn’t

It runs in the family

force around the basket as a scorer and rebounder. He went on to have a standout career at Saint Louis University. Justin’s son, Jayson Tatum, was one of the area’s best all-time players during his career at Chaminade College Prep. He led the Red Devils to the Class 5 state championship in 2016 while also being selected to the McDonald’s All-American game. After one excellent year of college ball at Duke, Tatum has been a member of the Boston Celtics for the past three years, where he has emerged as one of the top young players in the National Basketball Association.

Jeffrey McCaw-Patrick McCaw: Jeff McCaw was a standout point guard at Wellston and the leader of a powerful Trojans team that won the Class 2A state championship in 1988. He went on to have a very good

collegiate career at Forest Park Community College and Missouri Western University. His son, Patrick McCaw, was a standout high school player at CBC from 2011-13. Patrick was an excellent college player at UNLV where he was the leading scorer for the Runnin’ Rebels. Patrick has the distinction of being a member of the last three NBA championships. He won rings with the Golden State Warriors in 2017 and 2018 and the Toronto Raptors in 2019.

Susan Johnson-Tionne

track and field team. Her son, Tionne Harris, was a standout football player for the Vianney Golden Griffins. Harris put up some tremendous numbers as Vianney’s starting quarterback from 2015 to 2018. In the fall of 2017, Harris led Vianney to the Class 5 state championship. He is currently playing quarterback at Quincy University.

Earl Austin Jr.

Harris: Susan Johnson (nee’ Lane) was a two-sport standout athlete at Berkeley High in the late 1980s. She was one of the area’s leading scorers on the basketball team and a member of the Bulldogs’ outstanding

Anthony VirdureAnthony Virdure: The elder Anthony Virdure was a standout point guard for Lutheran North in the late 1980’s. He was an outstanding floor general in leading the Crusaders to some very successful seasons. Young Anthony Virdure followed his father to Lutheran North and enjoyed a stellar career in football and basketball. On the basketball court, Virdure finished

his career as Lutheran North’s all-time leading scorer. He led the Crusaders to back-to-back Final Four appearances in the Class 3 state tournament in 2012 and 2013.

Malcolm Hill-Malcolm Hill Jr.: The elder Malcolm Hill was a standout guard at East St. Louis Assumption, which advanced to the Class A state tournament in 1989. He went on to have a fine collegiate career at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Malcolm Hill Jr. was a standout player at Belleville East High. He went on to have a stellar basketball career at the University of Illinois, where he finished his career as the school’s third alltime leading scorer. He is now playing professional basketball overseas.

Larry Hughes-Lauryn, Landis, Larry Hughes, Jr.: Larry Hughes was one

“It doesn’t hold any, ‘Oh my gosh, I wonder what that feels like.’ I know what it feels like. I’ve been there. I coached Hall of Fame players and great players and coached in everything but the Super Bowl, so I know what that feels like. That’s number one.” He’s not eager to leave the “destination job,” he holds at Stanford.

“I love being at Stanford because I get the brightest guys, I get the most competitive guys on and off the field. I still tell people I write more recommendations than any football coach in America for graduate school, for job opportunities. I’ve helped guys get to the point where they’re starting their own companies,” Shaw said.

“I love the passion. Not to mention we’re coming off a pretty darn good decade and ready to start the next decade on a high note also. “ It sounds like he’s going nowhere - at least until too much money to turn down is offered.

The Reid Roundup Joe Flacco, who had a neck surgery a few weeks back and might not be 100 percent come September, was signed to a contract by the New York Jets to serve as backup to starting quarterback Sam Darnold Meanwhile, Cam Newton remains unsigned... NFL.com has updated its player base and changed Colin Kaepernick back to free agent after listing him as “retired.”... Patrick Ewing, the former Georgetown and New York Knicks star and current Hoyas coach, is recovering from COVID-19 at his home... It being reported that the Kansas City Chiefs and superstar MVP quarterback Patrick Mahomes are now in contract extension talks that will make him the highest-paid NFL quarterback in history... Alvin A. Reid can be contacted on his Twitter handle at @#aareid1.

of the St. Louis area’s alltime great guards. He was a McDonald’s All-American after leading CBC to a Class 4A state championship in 1997. He was the National Freshman of the Year during his one season of college ball at Saint Louis University. He went on to enjoy an excellent 13-year career in the National Basketball Association. Larry’s two daughters, Lauryn and Landis, were excellent basketball players at MICDS. Both played key roles for the Rams’ Class 4 Final Four teams in 2015 and 2016. Lauryn is currently playing at Saint Louis U. Larry Hughes Jr. just finished his sophomore year at CBC where his 3-point shooting helped the Cadets to a Final Four berth in the Class 5 state tournament.

Catch part II of “It runs in the Family” in next week’s edition.

Alvin A. Reid

. LouiS american Career Center

LIABILITY CLAIMS MANAGER

Responsible for handling assigned claims from initial assignment to closure, as well as provide assistance in various administrative functions associated with the large casualty lines of business.

To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

INVITATION TO BID

JUNE 1-30, 2020

ST. LOUIS CELEBRITY SENIORS, INC.

Accepting written narrative applications from St. Louis Metropolitan area 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations that are seeking volunteers and/or financial assistance for social service, scientific or educational programs for 2020/2021. Narrative must not be more than 500 words and include proof of nonprofit status. Any questions should be directed to Ellen White at (314) 630-7538 or by email at ewhite5341@sbcglobal.net.

Mail applications To: St. Louis Celebrity Seniors, Inc.

P.O. Box 4113 St. Louis, MO 63136

SYSTEMS ENGINEER I

Demonstrates an understanding of Mobility Infrastructure including AirWatch mobile device management and Citrix Xenapp/ Xendesktop in a Microsoft Windows environment. Working knowledge of Cisco UCS, NetApp OnTAP, VMware vSphere helpful. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

BUSINESS SYSTEMS ANALYST

Responsibility for the collection, preparation, documentation and communication of IS requirements, both business and technical. Demonstrates clear and working knowledge and concepts of Business Analysis and Information Technology. Capable of working independently, but may be assigned to work under the guidance of a Senior Business Systems Analyst when engaged in larger, more complex projects. To apply, please visit: https://www. safetynational.com/careers-page/

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure temporary help services from Savi Gurus LLC in an effort to support the IT Technology Plan. The District is proposing single source procurement for this service because it does not have the internal expertise to fulfill this Information Technology role. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@ stlmsd.com.

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

METROPOLITAN ST. LOUIS

SEWER DISTRICT

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is accepting proposals in the Purchasing Division, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103-2555 until 10:00 a.m. on June 19, 2020 to contract with a company for: Carbon Media Replacement Specifications and bid forms may be obtained from www.msdprojectclear.org,

LARGE CASUALTY WORKER’S COMPENSATION CLAIMS MANAGER

Responsible for handling assigned claims from initial assignment to closure, as well as provide assistance in various administrative functions associated with the primary WC LOB. To apply, please visit: https://www.safetynational.com/ careers-page/

DIRECTOR, SUPPORT SERVICES

This position is responsible for overall development, coordination and oversight of the delivery of Covenant House Missouri Support Services that include, but are not limited to, wellness services, outreach, employment, education and all other services needed to ensure youth can achieve the goal of living independently in the community. To apply, visit our website at www.covenanthousemo.org

To Advertise please email Angelita at ahouston@stlamerican.com

BUSINESS ASSISTANCE SPECIALIST

St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) has opening for a Business Assistance Specialist. SLDC is looking for candidates with St Louis City government experience in the areas of business assistance, licensing, zoning, or BPS. To apply online and see a full job description go to: http://www.stlouis-mo.gov/sldc/ and click on “Careers at SLDC.” SLDC is an equal opportunity employer and values diversity.

BIDS & NOTICES

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Castlewood State Park Streambank Restoration Phase I, Ballwin, Missouri, Project No. X2002-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1 : 3 0 P M , 6/4/2020 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered t o b i d . F o r specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http:// oa.mo.gov/ facilities

REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS # 57820148, Event Management Services

IMPORTANT NOTICE TO ALL VENDORS:

In response to the challenges the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) presents, and to ensure the safety of the public, postal workers, couriers, and our employees; until further notice and effective immediately, Harris-Stowe State University hereby changes receipt of proposals/bids to electronic submissions. The vendor is solely responsible for ensuring timely submission of their electronic solicitation response. Failure to allow adequate time prior to the solicitation end date to complete and submit a response to a solicitation, particularly in the event technical support assistance is required, places the vendor and their response at risk of not being accepted on time. If a vendor does not have electronic accessibility to submit an electronic bid response, the vendor must contact the buyer of record at least five (5) days prior to the due date of the bid to determine if an alternate process is available to accept the vendor’s bid. However, at this time under the current circumstances, electronic bid submission is the only certain way to be able to submit bid responses.

Harris-Stowe State University (HSSU) is requesting proposals for Event Management Services for presidential inauguration events during the period of June 2020 through June 2021. Interested parties may obtain a copy of the RFP by emailing: morrowb@ hssu.edu; calling (314) 340-5763 or faxing a written request to: (314) 340-3322.

Full-Time Accounting Assistant

Proficient in Accounts Payable & Excel Spreadsheets. Working knowledge of Accounts Receivable. Understands General Ledger and Financial Reports. Experience in Quick Books preferred. Professional phone etiquette & customer service skills. Send resume with qualifications and work experience to: St. Louis American Newspaper Accounting Assistance 2315 Pine Street, St. Louis, MO 63103 NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE

Robert Salarano Airport Properties Division Manager

www.stlamerican.com

Proposals must be emailed to morrowb@hssu.edu and shall be received no later than 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, June 10, 2020.

The names of vendors will be read on the date and time listed in the ad. Award will not be made at the time names are read. The University reserves the right to waive any informalities in bids and to reject any and all bids.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure: MEMBERSHIP DUES: ASSOCIATION OF MISSOURI CLEANWATER AGENCIES was used for this service. Any inquiries should be sent to gjamison@stlmsd.com.

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

NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that The Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District (District), the Owner, will receive sealed bids for Valley Public I/I Reduction (Clarkson Rd and Kehrs Mill Rd) under Letting No. 12507-015.1, at its office, 2350 Market Street, St. Louis, Missouri 63103, until 2:00 PM, local time, on Tuesday, June 23, 2020. All bids are to be deposited in the bid box located on the first floor of the District’s Headquarters prior to the 2:00 p.m. deadline. Bids may, however, be withdrawn prior to the opening of the first bid. BIDS WILL BE PUBLICLY OPENED AND READ IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE BID DUE DATE/TIME AT 2350 MARKET STREET, AT A PLACE DESIGNATED.

The Work to be performed under these Contract Documents consists of: The work to be done under this contract consists of the rehabilitation of approximately 34,793 lineal feet of sanitary sewers, varying in size from 8-inch to 10-inch in diameter, using cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) methods, 56 manholes, 286 service connections, and 10 point repairs. The project is with in the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District Boundaries, inside the city(ies) of Ballwin, Chesterfield, Clarkson Valley, and Ellisville in the State of Missouri. The work will be performed in various quantities at various sites.

All prospective bidders must prequalify in the Cured-In-Place Pipe (CIPP) category, and be certified prior to the Bid Opening. Prequalification forms for obtaining said certification may be obtained from the Owner at the above mentioned address. All bidders must obtain drawings and specifications in the name of the entity submitting the bid.

This project will be financed through the Missouri State Revolving Fund, established by the sale of Missouri Water Pollution Control bonds and Federal Capitalization Grants to Missouri. Neither the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, its divisions, nor its employees will be party to the contract at any tier. Any Bidder whose firm or affiliate is listed on the GSA publication titled “List of Parties Excluded from Federal Procurement or Non-Procurement Programs” is prohibited from the bidding process; bids received from a listed party will be deemed non-responsive. Refer to Instructions to Bidders B-27 for more information regarding debarment and suspension.

Nondiscrimination in Employment: Bidders on this work will be required to comply with the President’s Executive Order 11246. Requirements for bidders and contractors under this order are explained in the specifications.

Plans and Specifications are available from free electronic download. Please go to MSD’s website and look for a link to “ELECTRONIC PLANROOM.” Plans and Specifications are also available for viewing or purchase at Cross Rhodes Reprographics located at 2731 S. Jefferson Ave

BIDS

The City of Crestwood is seeking bids for the 2020 CDBG ADA Compliant Picnic Table project. This project is funded in whole or in part with Community Development Block Grant funds pursuant to Title I of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, as amended. All applicable federal regulations shall be in full force and effect. Qualified contractors may obtain a Project Manual online at www.cityofcrestwood.org or in person at the City of Crestwood Public Works Department in the Government Center located at #1 Detjen Dr. St. Louis, MO 63126. Bids are due by 10:00 A.M., on Thursday, June 11, 2020. Please call (314)729-4720 for more information.

CITY OF ST. LOUIS ST. LOUIS LAMBERT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Request For Proposals (RFP) for Security Guard Services Bids Wanted

Proposal documents may be obtained at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, Airport Properties Division, Monday through Friday between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., or by calling (314) 890-1802. This RFP may also be obtained by visiting our website at www.flystl.com/business/ contract-opportunites.

Robert Salarano Airport Properties Division Manager

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Renovate Paint and Blast Booths and Install Solar Array at Missouri National Guard Ike Skelton Training Site, Project No. T1921-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 6/25/20 via MissouriBUYS.

Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY COLLEGE

The St. Louis Community College is requesting submittals of experience and qualifications from architectural/ engineering firms, Consulting Agreement Contract No. A20 0320 for Design Services for the Renovation of the 4th Floor Interior Spaces of the Center for Nursing and Health Sciences at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park. Submittals of the Consultant’s qualifications will be received by St. Louis Community College, in the Engineering and Design Department until 2:00 p.m., July 3, 2020, at 5464 Highland Park Drive, St. Louis, MO 63110-1314. The scope of architectural/engineering services and consulting agreement procedures may be obtained from the Manager’s office, at the above address or by calling (314) 951-9897

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SEALED BIDS

Bids for REBID – Repair Parking Lots and Driveways Troop C Headquarters Weldon Springs, St. Charles County, Missouri Project No. R1905-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 6/11/2020 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Structural Repairs, Senate Parking Garage, Capitol Complex, Jefferson City, Missouri, Project N o . O 1 8 1 7 - 0 1 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 6/11/2020 via MissouriBUYS.

Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

EMERGENCY SERVICE

VENDORS RFPS

The Saint Louis Zoo seeks bids from qualified contractors for the following Emergency Services RFPs: Annual Fire Alarm Testing & Repairs, Automatic Door & Gate Services, Electrical Services, Fire Sprinkler & Backflow Testing Services, HVAC/Boiler Services. Bid documents are available as of May 27, 2020 on the Saint Louis Zoo website: stlzoo.org/vendor

INVITATION FOR EQUIPMENT BIDS

East-West Gateway Council of Governments is seeking bids for dry suits, airbag lifting sets, extrication equipment, throat microphones & night vision equipment. Bids are due 06/05/2020. Funding is provided by the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security. MBEs / WBEs are encouraged to submit bids. Find details at www.ewgateway.org.

Public Notice of Single Source Procurement

Notice is hereby given that the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is proposing to procure temporary help services from Amitech Solutions in an effort to support the IT Technology Plan. The District is proposing single source procurement for this service because it does not have the internal expertise to fulfill this Information Technology role. Any inquiries should be sent to strenz@stlmsd.com. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

CITY OF ST LOUIS DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP)

Beginning May 18, 2020 Requests for Proposals for FY2020 Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Emergency Shelter Operator(s) for Biddle Housing Opportunities Center (BHOC) are available at: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/ government/procurement/ or by contacting BickfordA@stlouis-mo.gov

The deadline for submitting proposals is 4:00 p.m., June 17, 2020.

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Window R e p l a c e m e n t Building 1029, Missouri National G u a r d , F L W Building 1029, Ft. Leonard Wood, Missouri, Project No. T2028-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 6/11/2020 v i a MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Roof Replacement, Missouri School for the Blind, St Louis, Missouri, Project No. E190801 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 6/11/2020 via MissouriBUYS.

Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/facilities

SEALED BIDS

Bids for Westminster R e c l a m a t i o n Project, Callaway County, Missouri, Project No. Y2002-01 will be received by FMDC, State of MO, UNTIL 1:30 PM, 5/28/2020 via MissouriBUYS. Bidders must be registered to bid. For specific project information and ordering plans, go to: http://oa.mo. gov/ facilities

Lola

Nichol Stevenson of Café Soul and national recording artist Eric Roberson when he dipped in town for a special benefit Memorial Day weekend 2017

Swag Snap of the Week

Play another slow jam: The Oops and Corey Black edition. If I had to pick my virtual vibe of the week, it would be a local one. I hopped up in Corey Black’s Quarantine Lounge on IG Live with his virtual quiet storm co-curator Bruce Franks Jr. aka Oops and listened along as the two rappers got into an epic slow jam battle. The difference between their battle and the Verzuz is that they used the music of other artists. And they played it all – from Sade to Shirley Murdoch up in that thang (yes, I said thang). The only thing that was missing was Doc Wynter signing off with his favorite excerpt from the poem “Don’t Quit.” And it was an utter wave when they showed love St. Louis’ own Willie Moore Jr. some love from his Pretty Willie days with an extended play of his jams. I must admit that my body had a mind of its on and commenced with an involuntary body roll when they flipped the switch on “Lay Your Body Down.” I got my whole life as they sang along to songs and kept dropping gems that belonged in somebody’s blue light basement party for three whole hours. It was a win for St. Louis and for R&B at the same time. Back to back Verzuz battles. The first of a double dose of holiday Verzuz battles kicked off Saturday night as they switched it up and gave the dancehall/ reggae folks a chance to aggressively bump and grind to their signature beat. I’ll tell y’all what, I learned one thing for sure when they were setting up that battle – CP time can’t hold a stick to JP (as in Jamaican People) time. They were sound checking for about an hour before Beenie Man and Bounty Killer did the first non-virtual battle. I know most of y’all aren’t into the genre, so I won’t labor long except to say it was one of my favorites of all the battles. Their energy was on 10 once things got rolling. Folks were giving Beenie Man the blues for his second trimester midsection before, during and after the battle. Trust me, those same folks are going to be accused of quarantine conception because of how they’ll be puffed out with those isolation absentee abs. To me their music is about the same, so I’m claiming Bounty Killer as the winner because of his delightfully raspy and heavy voice. Was I the only one thinking that he only talked like that when he was rap/singing? I was thrilled to know he uses that same “lawdhamercay. Bom, bom, bom” voice when he orders a number three at Mickey D’s. I must give Beenie Man a bun nod for his energy during the battle.

Half of 112 and static from Jagged Edge plus one or two. Listen. I have heard better sound tuning in to an AM station on my GPX portable player with those flimsy, notoriously short-circuited orange foam headphones during a thunderstorm than what Jagged Edge was severing up as part of the latest Verzuz battle. Folks didn’t keep the same energy with roasting the sound as they did when they went to town on Nelly’s Wi-Fi. I’m guessing by now folks are too exhausted by the recurring technical difficulties during Verzuz to bother. JE faced off against 56 (as in half of 112) and it was much more entertaining than I expected it to be – even if the sound did kill my vibe. And I’m also uncertain as to why JE was crammed into a utility closet full of LPs. You could only see two or three of them at any given time. I could see the twins – but all I could see of the other group members were hands passing around cans of what appeared to be St. Ides. I was like “112 needs to move to a bigger room too, because I can only see two of them.” Come to find out, only two of them were participating. The battle list from both groups bopped from start to finish, even though JE’s sound was utterly obstructed. It was to the point where I enjoyed myself way more than I expected. I feel like 56 low-key cheated with all the Biggie Smalls music and features. But Jagged Edge got them back by having side conversations all through the songs. If I were forced to declare a winner, I would say that just as with nearly all of the Verzuz battles, the undisputed heavyweight champion was the internet connection that fought dirty for the whole two hours.

Talented ladies keeping it all the way (Facebook)l live. I’m going to keep the local virtual love going by shouting out Tish Haynes Keys and her virtual concert that she held at Local Legends Listening Room/Cigar Bar. As much as I hate being on lockdown, I was quietly breathing a breath of fresh air because I wouldn’t have to suffer through my allergies flaring up with every puff happening around me. Speaking of smoke, that band she was grooving with was absolutely sickening – and I mean that as a most high compliment. And which one of y’all told her that Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do For Love” is one of my top five all-time jams? I was so thrilled to hear her sing it. I don’t know, it’s something about when a sista with some serious pipes tackles that song, it’s almost like they give it a new layer of understanding. And speaking of pipes, Cory “Saxmo” Allen killed it with the saxophone solo. And Tish wasn’t the only local powerhouse voice flexing her chops on Facebook Live. Tasha B., Cheryl Brown, Anita Jackson and Adrienne Felton-King had a living room sing down that had me somewhere between chilling on the patio catching a vibe and full-fledged praise break. The served up The Clark Sisters, Al Green and everything in between. And whoever said big voices can’t blend, should have been tuning in.

AfroSexyZoom. For the 6th Anniversary of his AfroSexyCool set, James Biko made adjustments due to that lowdown Corona – so the show will go on via Zoom at 7 p.m. on Friday, May 29. Everybody knows that AfroSexyCool is one of my faves, and with Biko’s skills on the table, I’m sure the energy will be absolutely transferrable from the physical to the digital. Check out his Facebook page by searching James Biko Gates to get the Zoom log in info.

Soul veteran Bilal with STL’s own Aloha Micheaux for Memorial Day Weekend 2011 @

The quarantine meant they couldn’t come together and celebrate their birthdays, but the turn up was real for Tricky and Orlando’s 2018 Memorial Day Weekend @ Dos Salas

Rapper Juelz Santana with promoter Rome as the reality television and hip-hop star stopped through Marquee for Memorial Day Weekend 2017

Actor Lance Gross poses for a pic with fans at the Loosecannon S.L.I.M. Charity Basketball Game the Sunday before Memorial Day in 2011 @ Chaifetz Arena

Blues legend Bobby Rush with Jojo @ The Chevy Music Showcase Memorial Day Weekend 2012

Needha was one of the many folks falling over with laughter during Cocoa Brown’s weekend run @ The Laugh Lounge

A throwback to Memorial Day weekend 2014 with Kisha and Scar Ladon kicking it @ The Marquee

Averi and Richelle extended their Memorial Day Weekend kicking it to Dos Salas back in 2018

Candice and Ariana kick it at a silent party Memorial Day Weekend, which were all the rage back in 2018

Sarah Bryant grabbed a pic with actor Jay Ellis Memorial Day weekend 2014, long before we came to know him as Lawrence on Issa Rae’s HBO hit “Insecure.”’