‘The urgency of the need gives us no other choice’
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
92 years serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis
CAC Audited APRIL 16 – 22, 2020
Vol. 92 No. 4 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
‘We can’t let up’
December 31, 1944 – AprioL 12, 2020
St. Louis region still projected to be ‘hit hard’ by virus By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American The St. Louis region is still on the steep part of the COVID-19 curve, said Dr. Alex Garza, chief medical officer of SSM Health. “There’s no question that the virus is still going to hit this area and hard,” Garza said on Monday, April 13. “How hard depends on what we do as a community. It’s easy to get frustrated and want to gather in larger groups, especially with the warmer weather. However, I can’t stress enough that we are reaching a critical time
and we can’t let up.” Garza is the incident commander for the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force. The task force includes four major health care systems: BJC HealthCare, Mercy, SSM Health and St Luke’s Hospital. Every day, Garza gives a briefing on the task force’s COVID-19 statistics that represent 2.8 million people for an area that encompasses surrounding counties in Missouri and Illinois in the larger St. Louis region. When Garza first reported statistics on April 5, the task force’s systems had 468 patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 or were suspected of having COVID-19. As of April 15, that number is 707. “That is an increase of 50 percent in less than 10
n Garza reported on April 13 that there were 634 people currently hospitalized in the St. Louis region. Of those, 189 were in the intensive care unit (ICU) and 160 were on ventilators.
See VIRUS, A7
Judge Charles A. Shaw passes at 75 ‘He was not afraid to challenge injustice’ By Chris King Of The St. Louis American Judge Charles A. Shaw, senior United States district judge for the Eastern District of Missouri and a favorite son of North St. Louis, passed away on Easter Sunday, April 12 at age 75. “Judge Charles Shaw was a lion of the court,” said Virvus Jones, former St. Louis comptroller and Shaw’s golf companion for more than 20 years. “He was not afraid to challenge injustice. He and Judge Clyde Cahill balked at the mandatory sentencing laws that required judges to sentence people to five years without parole for the possession of crack cocaine but lesser sentences for the Judge possession of powdered Charles A. cocaine.” Shaw Judge Shaw’s colleagues on the Eastern Missouri bench also expressed their feelings of loss at his passing. “I have carried the lessons I learned from Judge Charles Shaw with me throughout my entire career,” said U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White. “When I preside over cases where lawyers are confronted with difficult issues and clients, I find myself asking, ‘What would Judge Shaw do?’” See SHAW, A6
Photo by Wiley Price
Feeding the community – safely People in the city’s West End neighborhood near Hodiamont and Julian avenues practiced social distancing while waiting in line to receive meals provided by staff from the Salvation Army’s Midland Division wearing protective equipment on Saturday, April 11. Social service agencies are reporting vast need for support as the COVID-19 pandemic cripples the economy.
‘Staying at Home’ when homeless Advocates say the city needs a plan for unhoused in St. Louis An encampment community in downtown St. Louis shared a meal in this file photo from 2017.
By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, Deidra C. Thomas-Murray thought she and five children would be leaving her hometown for two days. n Earlier this year, Instead, the then-social Deidra C. Thomasworker for New Murray had idenOrleans Public tified 3,095 SLPS Schools became students as homehomeless. She less. “I’m sure those eventually found shelter at a hotel numbers are much in St. Louis, higher now,” she arranged through said. St. Patrick Center. Now ThomasMurray is the homeless and foster care liaison for the St. Louis Public School District’s Students-In-Transition Office. “Although it was 15 years ago, this pan-
Learning together – at home Saint Louis Public Schools prepares to finish semester at a social distance By Kelvin R. Adams and Dorothy Rohde-Collins For The St. Louis American On April 9, we announced in conjunction with the governor that Saint Louis Public Schools will remain closed through the remainder of the school year. This difficult decision was made jointly with St. Louis city charter schools, Catholic schools, independent schools and St. Louis County schools to ensure a coordinated response across the region. This historic experience will, no doubt, reshape how we work together to promote teaching and learning. Through it all, know that Saint Louis Public Schools is relentlessly committed to: • maintaining and strengthening our relationship with your child, even though we can’t gather in our school buildings in the way we have in the past. • providing an internet-capable device to every single student who needs one to access See SLPS, A7
See HOMELESS, A6 Photo by Lawrence Bryant