National Funeral Directors meet in St. Louis
St. Louis American Local funeral service owner looks back at days of ‘hand shake of good faith’ –
Page A10
The
CAC Audited JULY 30 – AUG. 5, 2015
stlamerican.com
Vol. 86 No. 17 COMPLIMENTARY
Robin Smith of KMOV 4 retires
Says farewell to 42 years of ‘the privilege of being the messenger’
By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American Veteran newscaster Robin Smith will be on the air at 10 a.m. for Great Day St. Louis on Friday, July 31, then she will anchor her final noon newscast on KMOV 4 in St. Louis. Smith is retiring after 42 years in local television news. She started working at News 4 when it
was a CBS-owned and -operated station. Previously, she worked for KTVI-TVABC in St. Louis, where she anchored, reported and produced several features, documentaries and was involved in investigative reporting. Smith also worked at KSDK-TV-NBC, where at age 19 she was the youngest known member of any on-air news television staff in St. Louis.
“It’s a composite of 42 years of being blessed with citizens in the bi-state region, to tell their stories and to give them a voice,” Smith said. “That’s what stands out most about the privilege of being the messenger: being allowed to share in their intimate moments with viewers and they give you that trust to tell everyone else their See SMITH, A6
Photo by Wiley Price
Nalia Walton, 14 (left), a student at Gateway High and Audrianna Black, 14, a student at Hazelwood West High discuss changes they would make to improve their community.
Attacking gun violence ‘from the root’ Bruce Franks Jr. takes his ‘28 to Life’ program to the streets of St. Louis By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Four years ago, Carlton Keely, then 13, was walking home from a family reunion with his eight-year-old brother and a cousin. Although the walk home was short, Keely and his brother found themselves facedown on the ground and in handcuffs before the end of it. The incident started when a cop car passed them, and his cousin took off running. The police officer got out to question Keely and his little brother, who was angry that they were being stopped and expressed it. The officer didn’t stop to ask his age before throwing the eightyear-old on the ground, Keely said. Keely’s brother still won’t get near police officers and vehemently refused to attend the “28 to Life Youth Leadership and Organizing Summit” on July 25, where youth ages 13 to 19 met law enforcement agents to
Cleaning up Ferguson
Edwina Blair of Jennings and Roberta Lynch of Ferguson trimmed bushes growing in front of a shuttered business on the 9100 block of West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson on Monday, July 27 as part of a community clean-up day.
‘Praise our way through’
Rev. Traci Blackmon bears witness to funeral of Sandra Bland By Mariah Stewart Ferguson Fellow Last week, hundreds flocked to Lisle, Illinois for the funeral of Sandra Bland, the 28-year-old African-American woman who died in her jail cell after a controversial traffic stop arrest in Waller County, Texas. In attendance at the DuPage African Methodist Episcopal Church was local pastor, civil rights activist and Ferguson Commissioner, the Rev. Traci Blackmon, who leads Christ the King United Church of Christ in Florissant. Without invitation, Blackmon said she
See VIOLENCE, A7
Photo by Wiley Price
n “Praise is our form of resistance in the black church. It’s not a dismissal of what’s going on.” – Rev. Traci Blackmon
attended the funeral in Illinois to bear witness to “the death of another one of our babies.” “I just wanted to be in the place and
Sandra Bland
say with my body that her body mattered,” Blackmon said. “That her life mattered. And it wasn’t okay for another black woman to be hanging in a cell and we just accept what people say.” Guest were checked on the perimeters of the property. Photojournalists waited See BLAND, A7
Teaching STEM to teachers Collaborative partnership shows student career paths to educators By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Scientists at Sigma-Aldrich, a chemical-supply company in Midtown St. Louis, turned down the lights in a classroom-sized laboratory, where about 50 K-8 school teachers stood around lab tables wearing white coats. When the scientists combined two chemicals, the mixture glowed a magical turquoise blue in the dark. “As the kids would say, that’s tight,” said Cardellia Brand, a fifth-grade teacher in the Normandy School District. On July 22, the Sigma-Aldrich team members taught
See STEM, A6