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St. Louis American See page B1
The
CAC Audited APRIL 29 – MAY 5, 2021
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Jones, Bush call jail problems ‘disgusting’ St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner speaks to the press as St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones and Public Safety Director Dan Isom look on after touring the Medium Security Institution with other political leaders in St. Louis on Saturday, April 24, 2021.
Vol. 93 No. 5 COMPLIMENTARY
WWT named to list of world’s most influential TIME’s list includes AT&T, Nike, Pfizer, Delta, MasterCard
Special to The St. Louis American
Photo by Bill Greenblatt / St. Louis American
City’s leadership promises to improve criminal justice system By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American Several St. Louis leaders visited both of the city’s jails Saturday afternoon to inspect conditions, later describing the facility as disgusting, deplorable and filthy. Mayor Tishaura Jones, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner and U.S. Rep Cori Bush, D-Mo, talked to detainees and toured areas in both facilities. Afterward, they addressed the media in front of the Workhouse. “I think I speak for all three of us when I say we were very disappointed, shocked and frustrated by what was seen,” Jones said. “I stay committed to the promise I made when I was running for office, I stay committed to the budget that we introduced on Tuesday to zero out the funding for the Workhouse.”
The mayor said Saturday’s experience confirmed that closing the Workhouse is the right decision. Jones asserted that the detainees’ rights are not being respected or protected. She said one of the most alarming things she was told was what the detainees are being fed — referred to as mystery meat and rats meat — and the medical treatment that they are not receiving. “We don’t have all the answers today, but this is the first step to getting those answers,” she said of the tour. Bush said they weren’t there to point a finger or blame but to change the lives of the detainees. “As much as we know and have already heard about the conditions, today we saw the conditions a different way,” Bush said. “This is the reason why I ran for office. This is
n “I think I speak for all three of us when I say we were very disappointed, shocked and frustrated by what was seen.” – Mayor Tishaura Jones
See JAIL, A6
New Northside responds to gun violence
Proposed budget eliminates Workhouse funding
By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American
By Pastor Rodrick K. Burton New Northside Missionary Baptist Church
See VIOLENCE, A7
See WWT, A6
Residents call on leaders to defund police
Five people have been killed within 500 feet of the church
I was in our monthly deacon meeting on Zoom when a member informed me that yet another shooting had occurred at my church, New Northside Missionary Baptist Church. As I rushed up to the church building from the Family Life Center, it was déjà vu all over again. Not 10 days earlier, we saw the strips of yellow tape, multiple police vehicles, the large presence of officers and investigators from St. Louis City and County police departments, spectators and grieving family members. Ten days earlier, two young
TIME recently revealed the first-ever TIME100 Most Influential Companies. The new list, an expansion of the annual TIME100 list of the world’s most influential people, highlights 100 companies making an extraordinary impact around the world. St. Louis-based World Wide Technology, the largest Black-owned corporation in the United States, is in the “Leaders” section on the TIME100 list. Companies making TIME’s list were grouped into one of five categories: pioneers, leaders, innovators, titans and disruptors. Other companies in the David L. ‘Leaders’ section include major global corporations Steward such as AT&T, Mattel, Sony, Nike, Delta, MasterCard, Volkswagen and Pfizer. World Wide Technology was the only company with headquarters in St. Louis to make the list. TIME said, “Behind the scenes, World Wide Technology (WWT) helped power the transition to working from home. Teaming up with manufacturers such as Cisco and Dell, the technology-services behemoth helps a broad range of organizations, including major hospitals and the Department of Defense, select and install computer systems and other digital infrastructure. In 2020, to
Photo by Leonard Toms
On April 22, New Northside Missionary Baptist Church hosted a prayer vigil memorializing Diesha Boyd and the other victims killed near the church. Groups in attendance committed to 30 days of prayer and advocating for urgent action on gun control legislation.
St. Louis’ proposed fiscal year 2022 budget would zero out funding for the Medium Security Institution — more commonly known as the Workhouse — allowing Mayor Tishaura Jones to fulfill her promise of closing the jail within the first 100 days of her administration. And after several St. Louis residents spoke during a Zoom meeting for public comment regarding the proposed budget a few days after it was introduced, Comptroller Darlene Green said she intended to recommend substantial reductions to police positions that have gone vacant for several years. Green also said she intends to recommend a $1.5 million increase to the Affordable See BUDGET, A6