2022 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion special section
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CAC Audited AUGUST 25 – 31, 2022
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Defying the odds
Cardinal Ritter celebrates 40% Black male faculty, staff
Cardinal Ritter College Prep President Tamico Armstead with social studies teacher Randy Reed in his classroom Tuesday, Aug.23.
By Sylvester Brown Jr. The St. Louis American The year was 1979. President Jimmy Carter was in the White House, Sony had just released the Walkman, The Sugar Hill Gang released their first commercial rap hit, “Rapper’s Delight” and Stephen King’s “The Dead Zone” was on the “best-sellers” list. In St. Louis, there was a less heralded phenomenon being birthed on the educational front. The St. Louis Archdiocese’s Board of Catholic Education established a community representative task force to conduct a survey. For two years, they asked Black North St. Louis residents and parents what they wanted from a Catholic school in their
See RITTER, A7
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Vol. 94 No. 22 COMPLIMENTARY
NAACP sues over voting rights Joins with other organizations
St. Louis American staff Imagine going to jail because you bought volunteers registering people to vote a pizza. The Missouri NAACP and League of Women Voters have filed a pair of lawsuits against the state of Missouri alleging that new restrictions violate the fundamental right to vote and equal protection under the Missouri Constitution. The first suit challenges voter identification requirements under recently n The Missouri passed House Bill 1878. The second, filed on Monday, NAACP and block provisions restricting League of voter registration activity and Women Voters distribution of absentee ballot applications. have filed a “We will do everything pair of lawin our power to make sure suits against the rights of Missouri voters the state of are restored, and everyone Missouri alleg- can have their vote counted,” Nimrod Chapel, Jr., presiing that new dent of the Missouri State restrictions Conference of the NAACP violate the fun- said in a release. “The NAACP has long damental right raised concerns about to vote. Missouri’s efforts to implement a discriminatory voter ID law, and it is one of the reasons we have issued a travel advisory for the state. Democracy in Missouri is not a safe place for Black voters.” The National NAACP is also involved in protection of voting rights in Missouri. “Missouri’s new voter ID law would prevent some people from using identification that they have used for decades when voting,” said Janette McCarthy Wallace, NAACP general counsel. “It would disproportionately affect people of color and prevent lawfully registered voters from casting ballots. The nonpartisan NAACP has always existed, in part, to challenge such attempts to disenfranchise Black voters.”
See NAACP, A6 Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
School is cool
Kiana Henderson takes a picture of her children Malaysia Roberts, 3, a pre-K student, and her brother Marsean Roberts, 4, who was starting kindergarten on the first day of school at Stix Early Childhood Center Monday, Aug. 22.
Passion for teaching and students drives Salute to Excellence in Education awardees
April 1, 1930 – July 5, 2022
Billie Jean Randolph transitions peacefully
The word most often used to describe Billie Jean Randolph was “delightful.” She was equally known for her wisdom, gracious manner, and love-tinged candor. She packed a lot into a petite, beautiful package. Becoming Billie Jean
Billie Jean Coleman was born April 1, 1930, in Little Rock, Arkansas. She was the only child of Nicodemus (Demus) Coleman, a railroad worker and electrical lineman working for the WPA in Alaska as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, and Grace Gardner Coleman. Grace Coleman passed when Billie Jean was a toddler. Shortly after her mother’s
BUSINESS
Tila Neguse is living version of diversity
An eclectic mixture of backgrounds and experiences, Neguse is Eritrean but also, a Memphisonian [born and raised in Memphis Tennessee].
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death, the family moved from her grandparents working farm in Arkansas to Kansas City, Missouri. There, Billie Jean was raised by her grandparents, her widowed father, and her loving, attentive aunts. Billie Jean joined Paseo Baptist Church at an early age. There she sang in the Billie Jean choir and played on the Randolph church’s basketball team. She attended Lincoln High School, still known as “The Castle on the Hill.” Lincoln was the first school for Black
HEALTH
Eight excellent awardees
By Tavia Gilchrist For The St. Louis American
teens on the Missouri side of Kansas City. In addition to her studies, Billie Jean enjoyed extracurricular activities. Her beautiful voice earned her a coveted spot in the school choir. She was also on the majorette and cheerleading squads. After graduating from Lincoln, Billie Jean earned a BA degree from West Virginia State College. She also earned a certificate in medical records at Homer G. Phillips Hospital in St. Louis. In 1956, after a summer romance and courtship, Billie Jean Coleman married Dr. Bernard C. Randolph at the home of her aunt and uncle, Dr. and Mrs. Newton M. Jenkins
See RANDOLPH, A6
The 2022 cohort of the St. Louis American Foundation’s Excellence in Education awardees includes educators who believe their work is their calling. They love their student scholars like their own children and regard their colleagues as cherished family members. After two years of lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they’ve emerged as pillars in their schools and anchors in the community, helping to restore stability and rallying colleagues to close learning gaps. Held in high esteem and deep appreciation by their peers, students and their parents, they’ll be recognized on Saturday, Oct. 1, at the St. Louis American Foundation’s Milestone 35th anniversary Salute to Excellence in Education Scholarship & Awards Gala at America’s Center.
See SALUTE, A6
SPORTS
Monkeypox rate higher for Black people
Canton calls two local high school powers
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As with COVID-19 and other treatable illnesses, the monkeypox virus impacts minority populations disproportionately.
CBC and East St. Louis will play bookend games of the NFL Academy Freedom Bowl at 20,000-seat Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio.