AKA congratulates Sen. Kamala Harris
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited AUGUST 20 – 26, 2020
92 years serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis
Vol. 92 No. 21 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
‘Get Your Knee off Our Necks’ march Cathy “Mama Cat” Daniels (second from right) with Cori Bush, Democratic nominee for U.S. Congress; St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones; and St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner.
Surviving COVID If it doesn’t kill you, it’s definitely not ‘totally harmless,’ as Trump claimed By Sylvester Brown Jr. Of The St. Louis American
Photo courtesy of Cathy “Mama Cat” Daniels
“We have tested over 40 million people, President Donald Trump said on July 4. “By so doing, we show cases, 99% of which are totally harmless.” When confronted with the number of Americans who have died from COVID-19 (about 170,000 to date), President Trump typically cites the high survival rate. The president is mostly correct. Health officials say that between 96 to 98% of people who’ve contracted the new coronavirus do indeed survive. However, the “totally harmless” part of Trump’s equation is way off-base. The research is ongoing but recent data indicates that many COVID-19 survivors Jana M. are still grappling with a host of Gamble debilitating problems long after they’ve gotten over the initial illness. Lingering conditions can include heart, lung, kidney and brain damage, blood clotting and ongoing acute respiratory distress. Elmer (El) Covington, 52, of University City fits the description of what doctors refer to as “long-haulers” – survivors who still experience mental or physical problems after fighting off an acute new coronavirus infection. Covington contracted COVID-19 in early March. He said he was adhering to health guidelines but, unfortunately, a visit to his cousin’s house proved life-threatening. Covington didn’t know his cousin was infected at the time, but a few days after the visit he started feeling fatigued
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STL activists travel to D.C. to rally By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Ferguson activist Cathy “Mama Cat” Daniels is heading to the March on Washington in Washington D.C. on August 28, and she’s bringing a bit of Black Girl Magic with her. “I think about the historic election we just had and these black women who went
through a lot,” Daniels said. “They had pounds of dirt just thrown at them. They stood up, just like our ancestors. They stood up against so much, I’m proud to say.” Daniels is speaking of the historic Democratic primary election on August 4. Ferguson activist and nurse Cori Bush beat 10-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay; she is now set to become Missouri’s first African-American congresswoman.
Voters also re-elected progressive incumbents St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner and St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones. None of them faces a Republican challenger in November who garnered a significant number of primary votes. But Daniels is also ready to be inspired by marching among thousands of others in
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Billboards removed from cemetery Lawsuit settled with Washington Park Cemetery Anti-Desecration League Workers with Elliott Media removed billboards from Washington Park Cemetery on Monday, August 17 pursuant to the settlement of a lawsuit that activist Wanda Brandon filed against the St. Louis-based outdoor advertising company DDI Media. The last structure came down on August 19.
By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American Mourners paying respects to their loved ones buried at Washington Park Cemetery have, since the 1980s, visited the historically Black cemetery under the shadow of 6 large advertisement billboards towering over the headstones. That is no longer the case. On Monday, August 17, the billboard structures started coming down. This was pursuant to the settlement of a lawsuit that activist Wanda Brandon filed against the St. Louis-based outdoor advertising company DDI Media, which owns the billboards and
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Photo by Wiley Price
Fired county library workers want jobs back By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American St. Louis County Library fired 122 part-time workers on August 11 — about one-third of whom were Black — with the intention of being “good stewards” of taxpayers’ dollars due to a decrease in library activity, said Kristen Sorth, president of the county library system. Employees, however, said library workers are busier than ever with some people out sick with COVID-19 and new duties associated with the pandemic. While Sorth said the number of minority employees fired reflected the library’s overall workforce, some branches lost almost all of their Black employees, workers said. County library workers spoke with The American on the condition of anonymity. “We love our patrons,” one Black librarian said. “We know them by name. We know their kids; we
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