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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited AUGUST 22 – 28, 2019
91 years of serving and empowering the St. Louis community
Vol. 91 No. 22 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
15 children killed this summer SLPS super: ‘There is a void of leadership to call people together and work on solutions’ At a prayer vigil held on Aug. 14, Sister Janice Munier, the parish life coordinator at Most Holy Trinity Parish, told stories about 7-year-old Xavier Usanga who was shot and killed outside his home two days before. The Usanga family has been active in the parish for many years.
By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Jason Eberhart, 16, was a football player – like his brother who plays for Ball State University and his father who played for the University of Illinois. “He comes from a family of football,” said his cousin and mentor Charles Shelton. “He was the middle child of five. We were really hoping that football was going to keep his mindset, but unfortunately life in the streets got the best of him.” On Sunday, August 18, Eberhart died from multiple gunshot wounds in the Carr Square neighborhood at 2 a.m., and the investigation is ongoing. His family is See CHILDREN, A6
Photo by Lisa Johnston/St. Louis Review
Crystal D. Ford (left), who is the mother of four children under the age of 4, walks with St. Louis firemen who rescued her children from a burning apartment in the 1300 block of Ohio Avenue. They were left alone in the apartment, and Ford has since been charged with four felony counts of endangering the welfare of children.
‘You truly are the mothers of our movement’ By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American When Lezley McSpadden-Head held her first Rainbow of Mothers Gala just after the first anniversary of her son Michael Brown’s death, Ron Johnson was there in uniform as a captain in the Missouri Highway Patrol working security detail for the event. As he watched the mothers, most of whom had children who lost their lives during encounters with law enforcement, he noticed that none of the women made eye contact. “I was a black man and a father – and I did my best,” Johnson said, speaking of his time on the frontlines of the Ferguson unrest. “Why wouldn’t they Lezley look me in the eye?” McSpadden-Head Shortly after the exchange, he realized that he didn’t have the courage to look them in the eye. “I knew that I needed to do more,” Johnson said. “I knew that I needed to be better.” When gathered once again at Barnett’s on Washington on the day after the 5th anniversary of Michael Brown’s death, Johnson was there not as an officer, but as the event’s keynote speaker. “There was a little black boy who wanted to be a policeman,” Johnson told the See MOTHERS, C5
SALute to educAtion
Photo by Wiley Price
‘To see these small victories, it is progress’ Rasheen Aldridge, left, won the Democratic nomination to succeed Bruce Franks Jr. in the 78th District House seat on Thursday, August 15.
Rasheen Aldridge nominated by Central Committee to replace Bruce Franks in the State House By Chris King Of The St. Louis American There is an apparent irony to Rasheen Aldridge receiving the Democratic nomination to succeed Bruce Franks Jr. as state representative in Missouri’s 78th House District. Aldridge and Franks came up together as political outsiders who disrupted the Hubbard political dynasty in North St. Louis, yet Aldridge will succeed Franks in office (after the November 5 special election) through the ultimate insider process of a vote by the city’s Central Democratic Committee. See ALDRIDGE, C5 Photo by Jason Rosenbaum / St. Louis Public Radio
Amber Mitchell is SEMO Counselor of the Year By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American What happens to the students who are not quite ready to transition into the next phase of their lives when they graduate high school? “I realized there was a gap there,” said Amber Mitchell, school counselor at Ritenour High School. “They are stuck, and they have no one to guide them through.” Some high school seniors let college applications Amber remain half-finished. Some Mitchell miss deadlines for job applications and don’t follow through on enlisting in the military. Any momentum such students had when their high school counselor was urging them See SALUTE, A7