Tatum backs up big-game image as USA wins gold medal
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Community gathers on 7th anniversary of Michael Brown’s killing
Vol. 93 No. 20 COMPLIMENTARY
Board gives final approval to pandemic aid bill Mayor still believes plan doesn’t follow federal law
By Dana Rieck The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Protesters rally in front of the Ferguson Police department late Monday evening Aug. 9, on the seventh anniversary of the fatal shooting of Michael Brown Jr. in by former Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9, 2014.
Brown’s father said ‘it’s almost like it just happened’ By Dana Rieck The St. Louis American Monday marked seven years since Michael Brown Jr. was shot and killed in Ferguson by former police officer Darren Wilson, sparking days of civil unrest in the city and around the country. A small crowd gathered Monday morning at the place in the Canfield Green Apartments where Brown’s life ended, and the Black Lives Matter movement began. U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis, was one of many speakers who took to the mic during the rally. She said that the while the number eight represents new beginnings, the number seven represents completion.
“I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that every single time our feet hit the ground, every single time we watched somebody beaten with batons, every time the tear gas came at us, every single time we ran from the rubber bullets, every time they ambushed us from behind the trees, every time the white supremacists shot at us from up over those hills — every time that we stood, we know we saved lives,” she said. Brown’s family and well-known activists sat in front of the spot where Brown’s body was left for four and a half hours after he was killed — marked by a rectangle painted on the road covered with flowers,
n “Coming to this space right here, the energy is just like — it’s like the energy bounces off all the walls out here, it’s almost like it just happened.” — Michael Brown Sr.
See BROWN, A6
Bringing ‘disconnected’ SLPS families back to school By Sophie Hurwitz The St. Louis American
West Florissant development honors legacy of Ferguson
Sophie Hurwitz The St. Louis American
See CENTER, A7
See BILL, A7
School year begins 100% in-person Aug. 23rd
Urban League breaks ground on new senior center Seven years ago, people across the nation watched a section of West Florissant burn during the Ferguson uprising. Afterwards, many of the street’s buildings were left empty, perpetually underused. At 9947 West Florissant, in Dellwood, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis is continuing its multi-year attempt to change the street’s reputation. On Monday, the organization held a ground-breaking ceremony for a senior apartment complex and community center. This
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen on Wednesday finally passed its $168 million pandemic aid bill after weeks of contentious debate raged on over whether a portion of the bill meets federal guidelines. This vote came after the Board of Estimate and n “These funds Apportionment will be subject to voted Friday to approve the bill, immense federeven though St. al scrutiny and Louis Mayor when auditors Tishaura Jones and Comptroller find that we’ve Darlene Green still allocated funds some of the for development believe spending, particuincentives we larly when it comes will be required to funds for development in North to pay it back.” St. Louis, won’t meet federal guide– St. Louis Mayor lines. Aldermanic Tishaura Jones President Lewis Reed, the third member of the three-member Board of Estimate and Apportionment, remains adamant that the bill meets legal requirements. “These funds will be subject to immense federal scrutiny and when auditors find that we’ve allocated funds for development incentives we will be required to pay it back,” Jones said during that Friday meeting. “This makes St. Louis vulnerable — unless we can unwind these redevelopment agreements, the cost will ultimately be borne
Photo by Jennifer Sarti / St. Louis American
Dellwood Mayor, Reggie Jones, spoke on Monday, Aug. 9, at the Urban League’s ground-breaking ceremony for a senior apartment complex and community center. Jones noted that the municipality provides discounted or free municipal services like cutting grass and trash collection for its aging residents.
For weeks, members of the St. Louis Public Schools teachers union have been calling families that “slipped through the cracks” last year, re-engaging them one-onone with the district; with school. According to AFT Local 420 union spokesman Byron Clemens, families were glad to hear from teachers, and generally excited to send their children back to in-person school when classes begin Aug. 23. But what many of those students were more interested in was the back-to-school fair, held Aug. 6. Students received bookbags, got health screenings, played games, received free books — and anyone over the age of 12 was able to receive a free vaccination. The fair was funded by a grant from the national American Federation of Teachers, as part of a nationwide back-to-school push that has provided grant money to 65 districts so far. Clemens said that in the third school year of the pandemic’s impact on education, famSee SLPS, A6