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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited DEC. 27, 2018 – JAN. 2, 2019
COMPLIMENTARY
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Elder Madison appointed pastor of Kennerly Temple Succeeds late Bishop Robert J. Ward at helm of historic COGIC church in the Ville By Cassandra Scott For The St. Louis American Elder Edgar O. Madison Jr. was appointed pastor of the historical Kennerly Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC), 4307 Kennerly Ave., on Saturday, December 15, after he was the overwhelming preference in polling of the local church membership. He succeeded the late pastor, Bishop Robert J. Ward, who transitioned on September 30 at 88. Bishop Sedgwick Daniels, who is serving as the interim
n “I want to reach out into the community to build our mission in the Ville and provide more community services.” – Elder Edgar “Petey” Madison
Vol. 90 No. 40
Elder Edgar “Petey” Madison is the new pastor of the historical Kennerly Temple Church of God in Christ (COGIC), 4307 Kennerly Ave.
Workhouse inmate died of opioid overdose Autopsy shows ‘acute fentanyl and acetyl fentanyl intoxication’ when Louis Payton died By Ashley Lisenby Of St. Louis Public Radio The inmate who died at St. Louis’ Medium Security Institution (MSI) in August died of an accidental fentanyl overdose, the autopsy report shows. Louis L. Payton, 48, was the latest inmate to die at the facility known as the Workhouse this year. He was the fifth inmate to die in custody at a city jail this year, according to records St. Louis Public Radio received in August from the city. “We are here because there must be no more,” said Close the Workhouse campaign leader Michelle Higgins this summer. “No more death and dying in a place that claims to be for the purpose of rehabilitation.” Louis L. Close the Workhouse Payton campaign advocates say they want to end the cash-bail system that they say detains low-level offenders who cannot afford to be released. Court records show Payton had been in jail since January on charges of unlawful firearm and marijuana possession. His court date would have been in October. Many inmates at MSI are detained before trial because they cannot afford bail. Back in August, Payton’s family called for answers at a media event organized by Close the Workhouse. “What happened to him, we don’t know. We don’t know,” a relative of the Payton’s told the news media this summer. There is a lawsuit pending against the jail alleging inhumane conditions and treatment. The city has denied those
jurisdictional prelate and General Board member of COGIC, made the appointment with the approval of Bishop See MADISON, A6
See INMATE, A7
Photo by Wiley Price
Sisters celebrate Christmas Sisters Brielle Keen, 4, and Bre’Ann Keen, 5, showed their excitement on getting a new toy for Christmas at the annual CARESTL Health Santa Land Christmas Toy Giveaway on Saturday, December 22. Parents were invited to bring their children to receive a free toy and pictures with Santa. Logan University donates hundreds of new toys for the annual event.
‘It’s all our fight – these are all our children’ Ferguson protestors organizing at detention camp at Texas-Mexico border By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Two days before Christmas Eve, Ferguson activists Cathy “Mama Cat” Daniels and Elizabeth Vega – along with seven other activists from St. Louis – set out on an 18-hour journey to the Texas-Mexico border. Their plan was to set up a resistance encampment in the middle of the desert, where nearly 3,000 immigrant refugee children are being held in a detention camp about 40 miles southeast of El Paso. In June, the Trump administration erected what the activists are calling a “concentration camp” to detain children, ages 12 to 17, before they are hopefully reunited with their families. However, an hour after they arrived on December 23 See PROTESTORS, A7
Ferguson activists Cathy “Mama Cat” Daniels and Elizabeth Vega – along with seven other activists from St. Louis – traveled to the Texas-Mexico border on December 22 to assist with the crisis caused by the Trump administration separating immigrant children from their parents.
Who was Lloyd Gaines? Looking back at a pioneer in desegregating American education – in Missouri By Dwyane Smith For The St. Louis American December 12 marked the 80th anniversary of the Gaines decision, a very significant but overlooked U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Lloyd Gaines had sought admission into the University of Missouri School of Law but was denied based on his race and the laws of Missouri that called for the separate education of African Americans and whites. On December 12, 1938, the Supreme Court ruled in Gaines’ favor and declared that the University of Missouri had to either admit him to its law school or provide separate but equal accommodations as mandated by the 1896 Plessey decision which upheld the “separate but equal” racial segregation doctrine. The Gaines decision stands out as one of the early defining moments in the Civil Rights movement. His case predates Rosa Parks’ defiant act that led to the Montgomery See GAINES, A6