Dr. Will Ross is a doctor who hasn’t forgotten his past
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2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 Gold Cup Newspaper Missouri Press Association
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited APRIL 19 – 25, 2018
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Annie Malone turns 130
Activist attorney Eric E. Vickers passes at 65 Won minority inclusion agreements in state, city workforce, contracts
American staff
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By Gloria S. Ross For The St. Louis American Eric E. Vickers, the provocative, complex and controversial attorney and civil rights activist who defended causes and clients on both sides of the Mississippi River, died on Friday, April 13 after a battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 65. His mantra was “litigating, agitating and negotiating.” In 1999, Vickers orchestrated an event that required plenty of agitating and negotiating. He helped shut down Interstate 70 to protest the dearth of African Americans hired to work on highway projects. Vickers, the Rev. Al Sharpton and approximately 300 other protesters halted morning rush hour traffic. They Eric E. got the attention of then-Gov. Vickers Mel Carnahan, the Missouri Department of Transportation and area contractors. Negotiations quickly ensued, and on July 22, 1999, 10 days after the blockade, protesters celebrated the inclusive agreement that had been hammered out, an agreement that still stands. “I have learned to use public protest for the benefit of the weak and downtrodden,” Vickers wrote. His cases needed to be equally meaningful; activism and law were inextricably linked. “I never wanted to be just an attorney. I wanted to be a lawyer fighting for justice where it most mattered, inside its very core,” Vickers said in a 2001 RiverFront Times profile.
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Photo by Wiley Price
Ashlee Coleman, an instructor at the Emerson Academy Therapeutic School operated by Annie Malone Children and Family Services, helps student Zackary Martin with a project.
Minority participation, civilian review subpoena power will become law Aldermen pass, mayor says she will sign, progressive measures By Rachel Lippmann Of St. Louis Public Radio St. Louis aldermen sent Mayor Lyda Krewson bills on Monday that put minority
LIVING IT
COMPLIMENTARY
FebruAry 16, 1953 – ApriL 13, 2018
5K run/walk, Mother’s Day Brunch join May Day Parade to celebrate milestone Annie Malone Children and Family Services is celebrating 130 years of service this year with two community events, in addition to the annual Annie Malone May Day Parade, which takes place this year on Sunday, May 20. On Sunday, April 29, the agency will host a 5K run/walk in Forest Park to recognize National Child Abuse Awareness month and raise awareness of child abuse and neglect; check-in time is 8 a.m. Olympic Gold n The May Day medalist Jackie JoynerKersee is the official walk Parade, a St. spokesperson. Individuals, Louis tradition families, businesses, and that began over organizations are invited to participate. Proceeds a century ago will directly support Annie in the historic Malone programs that Greater Ville prevent child abuse and Neighborhood, neglect. Annie Malone will also steps off at 1 celebrate mothers with a p.m. Sunday, Mother’s Day Brunch 11 May 20 at 20th a.m. Saturday, May 12 at and Market Norwood Hills Country Club. streets. Then the May Day Parade, a St. Louis tradition that began over a century ago in the historic Greater Ville Neighborhood, steps off at 1 p.m. Sunday, May 20 at 20th and Market streets and heads east on Market to Broadway. This year’s grand marshals are Judge Anne-Marie Clarke, St. Louis City Family Court commissioner; Jimmie Edwards, director of Public Safety for the City of St. Louis; and St. Louis Police Chief John Hayden. The May Day parade, the oldest and secondlargest African-American parade in the nation, and other celebration activities provide financial resources to support the agency’s programs, including parenting education, crisis intervention, transitional living programs, and therapeutic
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participation requirements into law for the first time and give subpoena power to the Civilian Oversight Board, which reviews police discipline cases. A spokesman for Mayor Lyda Krewson said she will sign both bills into law. Krewson and previous mayors have signed executive orders requiring that a certain percentage of work on publicly financed projects, or projects receiving development incentives, go to firms owned by women or individuals of color. The
minority participation legislation updates those numbers, which vary for different groups, and punishes developers who don’t make an effort to meet the goals. “There is no perfect piece of legislation,” said Alderman Terry Kennedy, D-18th Ward, who has pushed for minority participation laws since 1991. “That means then certainly there are some issues that could be strengthened but is it a good bill? Certainly it is.”
Eight excellent awardees Salute to Excellence in Health Care is Friday, April 27 By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American The St. Louis American Foundation will honor eight exceptional individuals from major medical institutions, federally qualified health centers, schools and allied health professions at the 2018 Salute to Excellence in Health Care on Friday, April 27. Eboni January, M.D. Dr. Eboni January is an obstetrician/ gynecologist at Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers. In addition to her focus on women’s
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BUSINESS
SPORTS
Tahir Moore shines in ‘Real Comedians of Social Media’
Royal Queens bound for robotics championship
Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC dominates track meet
One of the funniest comedy shows to come through St. Louis this year took place in a North Side church.
Girl Scouts get $400,000 donation to expand STEM education and develop future workforce.
The Commanders elite performers were on display at the Corey Seibert Invitational at Rockwood Summit.
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