Celebrating Black History D1 • FEBRUARY 13 - 19, 2025 • ST. LOUIS AMERICAN Black history is being made each day throughout the St. Louis region by accomplished African Americans in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics fields. During Black History Month, the St. Louis American will be featuring individuals who are following the historic paths of great Black scientists, engineers, and educators and also paving a way for others with STEM interests who are destined for future accomplishments
Marian Middle School mission for Mars Growing interest in STEM
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American Marian Middle School, which serves families from lower-income backgrounds and is the only all-girls private middle school in the St. Louis community serving urban adolescent youth in a faithbased environment, is having an out-ofthis-world experience. In 1989, NASA first studied a longterm plan to send astronauts to Mars after establishing a permanent base on the Moon. A decade later, Marian was founded in St. Louis. NASA released its plan and timetable for its first crewed Mars mission, including transportation, habitation, and science in 2022. Marian is among schools helping to advance student education and knowledge of the historic project. Through the Plant the Moon/Mars Challenge, sponsored by the Institute of Competition Sciences, Marian competed to see who can grow the best crops using lunar or Martian “regolith simulant.” Students chose to experiment with the Martian simulated soil to complete experiments growing crops. “We know that we can’t grow in Martian soil, so we need to find out the least amount of that soil can be mixed with ‘amendments’ and then grow things,” said Marian teacher Nicolle von der Heyde. The first crop of choice was spinach, “which didn’t do so well,” according to von der Heyde. “We redid the experiment with radish seeds, and they did very well.” The students were able to grow radish greens with a 50/50 mix of synthetic Martian NASAS soil and amendments. The mix of organic amendments is important because the less weight the better when it comes to missions to the moon See Marian, D3
Photo courtesy of Marian Middle School
Marian Middle School students took part in the Plant the Moon/Mars Challenge last semester and successfully grew radish greens in simulated Martian soil.
The inspiration behind a literary movement
Black history hidden figure celebrated at STL County Library
Thurs., Feb. 13, 5:30 p.m., St. Louis Public Library Black History Month Film Series, “10,000 Black Men Named George,” Auditorium, St. Louis Public Library – Central Branch, 1301 Olive St. For more information, visit www.slpl.org. Thurs., Feb. 13, 7 p.m., St. Louis County Library welcomes bestselling author Walter Mosley to sign and discuss “Been Wrong So Long It Feels Right: A King Oliver Novel,” St. Louis County Library – Clark Family Branch, 1640 St. Lindbergh. For more information, visit www.slcl.org.
By Kenya Vaughn The St. Louis American Three days ahead of Super Bowl LIX, Kendrick Lamar’s performance was such a hot topic that it made its way into the 2025 Frankie Freeman Inspirational Lecture, SLCL’s annual keynote Black History Month program. “Would she be team Drake or team Kendrick,” said Ron Austin, author and assistant professor of English at Saint Louis University. He facilitated a fascinating conversation with New York Times bestselling author Victoria Christopher Murray about her latest book “Harlem Rhapsody,” which was released on February 4. The audience erupted with laughter when Murray was asked who the heroine of her historical fiction drama would have sided with in the Drake vs. Kendrick Lamar beef had she been alive today. “They are doing some really nasty public fighting, and I don’t think she
2025 BLACK HISTORY MONTH EVENTS CALENDAR
Photo by Kenya Vaughn
Author and educator Ron Austin and bestselling author Victoria Christopher Murray discuss her latest historical fiction ‘Harlem Rhapsody,’ at St. Louis County Library’s Clark Family Branch for the 2025 Frankie Freeman Inspirational Lecture.
would be happy with either of them,” Murry said. “She was prim and proper. But I think she would probably side with Kendrick – and she would pull him aside and say, ‘What you are doing doesn’t make any sense, because you are pulling down another Black man. That is unacceptable.’” “She” is Jessie Redmon Fauset, a high school teacher who changed the course
of Black literature – and sparked The Harlem Renaissance – when she became literary editor of “The Crisis,” the official magazine of the NAACP, in 1919. Fauset is the main character in “Harlem Rhapsody,” a fictionalized account of the real-life culture shifter. “She discovered Langston Hughes at the See Library, D4
Fri., Feb. 14, 10:30 a.m. West African Dance and Drumming with Afriky Lolo, St. Louis Public Library – Central Branch, 1301 Olive St. For more information, visit www.slpl.org. Fri., 15, 10 a.m., West African Dance and Drumming with Afriky Lolo, St. Louis Public Library – Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid. For more information, visit www.slpl.org. Sat., Feb. 15, 10 a.m. Black Missourians in STEM interactive exhibit. Missouri History Museum, 5700 Lindell Blvd. St, Louis, MO 63112. For more information, visit https://mohistory. org. Sun., Feb. 16, 1 p.m. Family Sunday – We the People: A Black History See Calendar, D3