In Trump’s eyes, all Muslims are suspect
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St. Louis American GOP nominee wants to put Islamic houses of worship under special surveillance
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2015 Newspaper of the Year!
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The
CAC Audited JUNE 30 – JULY 6, 2016
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Vol. 88 No. 13 COMPLIMENTARY
Tiffany moves on to Topeka
Transformative Jennings super takes ‘love in action’ to larger district By Chris King Of The St. Louis American
Now-former Jennings Superintendent Tiffany Anderson with district students. She is now superintendent of Topeka Public Schools.
Regretfully, she is gone – Tiffany Anderson is now leading Topeka Public Schools in her adoptive home state of Kansas. She no longer serves the Jennings School District, which is now in the hands of new Superintendent Art McCoy. To prepare for her new position leading the district at the center of the epochal 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education case, Anderson has been visiting churches every Sunday in Topeka since February. Visiting local African Methodist
Episcopal churches, she met Linda Brown, the child plaintiff in Brown vs. Board of Education, and her mother. “The great-grandchildren and grandchildren of Linda Brown attend our schools, and the charge to continue to address equity is so very clear,” Anderson told The American. Anderson has made national news in her valiant, comprehensive effort to turn around the struggling Jennings School District – before, during and after the neighboring municipality of Ferguson erupted – but in Topeka she sees
See TIFFANY, A7
‘American’ wins again ‘Best Black Newspaper’ 5th straight year, Suggs named NNPA ‘Publisher of the Year’ By American staff
Photo by Lawrence Bryant
Cooling off at Pride
A local youth sought relief from the heat at PrideFest on Sunday, June 26. Temperatures were in the 90s as the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community, its allies and anyone else looking for free entertainment celebrated in downtown St. Louis.
HOUSTON, TX. – “I just want to tell all of you that what you do is important – and necessary,” gospel music legend Dr. Bobby Jones said to the room of individuals collectively known as the Black Press on Thursday, June 23 in the Omni Houston Ballroom. n “We take on They gathered in these challenges Houston for the 76th and publish our Annual National newspapers Newspaper Publishers because, in fact, Association (NNPA) Convention. Thursday we contribute night’s Merit Awards a great deal to celebrated overall our communities excellence in journalism and to the wider as part of a five-day lineup of programming. culture.” Jones attended as – Donald M. Suggs a special guest of the NNPA being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his 35-year run as host of the BET Network staple “The Bobby Jones Gospel Show.” Organizers tapped Jones to announce the evening’s top prizes – The John B. Russwurm & John H. Sengstacke Award for General Excellence, and Publisher of the Year See AMERICAN, A7
Two journeys to success InspireSTL helps promising students overcome obstacles to find their paths By Raymond Stewart and Alexis Bates For The St. Louis American Two Class of 2016 inspireSTL scholars – Alexis Bates, graduate of Gateway STEM High School, and Raymond Stewart, graduate of DeSmet Jesuit High School – spoke to the incoming class at inspireSTL’s recent graduation ceremony. Here is the speech they gave together about their journeys to success and inspireSTL’s role in them. Raymond Stewart: Nearly two weeks after the grand jury announced a non-indictment of then-Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson, I was confronted with the decision to declare whether or not I would run and serve as DeSmet’s student body president. I felt as if there were two roads presented to me, and I could only choose one to travel. One road was an exploration of the pain and truth that ignited from the sight of the dead body of a teenage
n “How often do you hear of a black kid from North City’s Walnut Park serving as the president of a private, West County, Jesuit high school such as DeSmet?”
black male lying in the middle of the street and all of the events that followed. There was a deep need that arose in me to be vocal about my frustration, to use my platform to elevate the voices of so many other young people who were also wrestling with the – Raymond Stewart dangers of racism. The other road would likely lead me to emerge as the official leader of my student body serving as president, pushing towards the gradual improvement of my school climate. How often do you hear of a black kid from North See INSPIRESTL, A6
Photo courtesy of inspireSTL
Alexis Bates (left) and Raymond Stewart (right) spoke to the incoming class at inspireSTL’s recent graduation ceremony.