Harris-Stowe to house Frankie Freeman Civil Rights Collection
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited AUGUST 9 – 15, 2018
Vol. 90 No. 20 COMPLIMENTARY
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Bell crushes McCulloch Will be first black St. Louis County prosecutor By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American Wesley Bell handed a stunning defeat to incumbent St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, August 7, beating him by more than 24,000 votes, 56 percent to 43 percent. No Republican candidate filed for county prosecutor, so n “We want Bell is virtually to make sure assured to win the fact that the November general election you live in – which will a certain make him St. zip code or Louis County’s you have first black prosecuting a certain attorney. economic The upset of status should McCulloch after not increase 27 years on the the likelihood job comes in his of you seeing first electoral challenge the inside of following a jail cell.” the killing of Michael Brown – Wesley Bell by a Ferguson police officer, which led to a grand jury process managed by McCulloch that made him many enemies in St. Louis County – and, indeed, all over the country. “What we had that he did not have was the power of people,” Bell told supporters on election night at
Wesley Bell thanked supporters on election night at Acapulco Restaurant & Lounge in St. Ann, near his campaign headquarters, after claiming victory in the St. Louis County prosecutor race.
See BELL, A6
Photo by Wiley Price
Free Joshua Williams Advocates call for clemency for protestor sentenced to 8 years for attempted arson By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Joshua Williams was 19 when he was arrested for lighting a trash can on fire, along with stealing a pack of gum and a bag of chips from a QuikTrip in Berkeley during the Ferguson unrest. He was sentenced to eight years, and he has already served three. He was n “At the state one of the Legislature, youngest we are activists protesting focusing on criminal justice the police shooting death reform, and of unarmed making sure black teenager Michael folks that shouldn’t be in Brown in 2014. jail don’t stay Williams did in jail.” not burn down the QuikTrip – state Rep. in Ferguson Bruce Franks Jr. on August 11, 2014, as some have mistakenly claimed. The incident in Berkeley happened months later after a separate police shooting of another black teenager, Antonio Martin. On Friday, August 3, about 30 community leaders and protestors gathered together at the Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton to ask Governor Mike Parson to pardon Williams and grant him clemency. “We should be treating kids as kids,” said Mustafa Abdullah, lead organizer for ACLU of
Reimagining St. Louis for young black males In memory of Michael Brown By Sean Joe and Chris King Of The St. Louis American Four years ago to the day of our publication date – on August 9, 2014 — a Ferguson police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old black male named Michael Brown. A grand jury convened by St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch considered whether this police officer, Darren Wilson, should be charged with a crime for killing Michael Brown. Among a wide array of evidence and testimony, this grand jury heard from Wilson himself. According to Michael the transcript of the interview released to the public Brown on the night that McCulloch announced that Wilson would not face criminal charges, Wilson told a grand jury a very strange story about this very young black man.
See MALES, A7
Photo by Rebecca Rivas
State Rep. Bruce Franks Jr. and other advocates held a press conference at the Buzz Westfall Justice Center in Clayton on Friday, August 3 to ask Governor Mike Parson to pardon Joshua Williams and grant him clemency. A visible Ferguson protestor, Williams was sentenced to eight years in prison after he pleaded guilty to first-degree arson, second-degree burglary and a misdemeanor for stealing for an incident at a QuikTrip in Berkeley during a protest. Missouri. “Josh is a young man who should have been headed to college, not to prison. As a part of our Smart Justice campaign, we are calling for smarter sentencing reforms in Missouri.” Sgt. Heather Taylor, president of the Ethical Society of Police, said that the judge was trying to make an
Karla May upsets incumbent Jake Hummel By Chris King Of The St. Louis American
example out of Williams. “Black and brown people are always the examples,” Taylor said. “It’s ridiculous. When the judge decided to make him the example, he did what the criminal justice system has always done – send people with
Karla May won a dramatic upset over incumbent 4th District state Senator Jacob W. Hummel in the August 7 Democratic primary, winning 20,204 votes (57 percent) to 15,137 votes (42 percent). The only candidate in the Republican primary, Robert J. Crump, garnered only 4,731 votes, so it’s a virtual certainty that May will win the general election and advance to the state Senate. With state Senator Jamilah Nasheed representing the 5th District, the City of St. Louis will have two black women state senators.
See WILLIAMS, A6
See MAY, A7