@stlouisamerican
@stlouisamerican
St. Louis American The
CAC Audited DEC. 29, 2022 – JAN. 4, 2023
Serving, empowering and advocating for equity in St. Louis since 1928
stlamerican.com
‘A champion on and off of the field’
Demetrious Johnson, community servant, former Mizzou, NFL star, passes By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American In some sad news for the holiday season, the Omega Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. has just added a great football player. More importantly, Demetrious Johnson was a great man. He worked tirelessly through his foundation to support underserved and under-resourced young people. He took immense pride and joy in making the holiday season special for thousands of children and families over the years. Johnson, 61, passed away on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2022. Since he would have delivered toys to children throughout the area on Christmas, the family he left behind n Demetrious completed that mission Johnson on Christmas Day. worked tire“My dad had the lessly through biggest heart,” his his foundation daughter Taylore Johnson told ksdk.com to support His daughter, underserved Ashley Chin, added that, “His big heart and and under-resourced young love for his community will never be forgotpeople. ten.” According to his family, Johnson died of an aortic dissection, a rare condition in which a tear occurs in the inner layer of the body’s main artery. He was in a St. Louis hospital when he past away. Johnson’s mother, a single parent raising eight children in the Darst-Webbe Public Housing Project, was an activist who fought for tenants’ rights and a safer neighborhood. Demetrious, her youngest, had a similar call to help those around him. He starred for the McKinley High School football team and earned a football scholarship at the University of Missouri. A hard-hitting defensive back, Johnson was named a Big Eight Conference All Star in 1982.
See JOHNSON, A6
Photo by Bill Greenblatt / St. Louis American
Demetrious Johnson, shown in this November 19, 2022 file photo handing out Thanksgiving Day turkeys, has died of complications from an aortic dissection, a rare heart condition, on December 24, 2022.
Diverse Catholic school will remain open
Rosati-Kain juniors and seniors visited key locations in the Black-American freedom struggle. Rosati-Kain participants included (from left) Juniors Morgan Robinson, Aniyah Cole, Sidnei Thomas-Drake, Helen Totty and (rear, with hat) Kennedy Achu with seniors (front row, far right) Gabrielle MitchellBonds and Brooke Elston.
By Ashley Winters St. Louis American You could call it a Christmas miracle. The region’s most diverse all-girls Catholic high school, Rosati-Kain, will remain open. Its board reached a decision to renew a multi-year lease on Christmas day. The all-girl Catholic high school has been a part of the St. Louis community since 1911. Rosati-Kain High School has partnered with St. Joseph Educational Ministries (SJEM) as their
See ROSATI-KAIN, A7
Down-home food is a part of B&I Eatery appeal
COMPLIMENTARY
Black Press has challenging, rewarding 2022 195th year closes with success stories
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Sr. Reporter
Rosati-Kain receives a ‘Christmas miracle’
BUSINESS
Vol. 94 No. 40
Photo courtesy of Rosati-Kain High School
SPECIAL SECTION
The American reviews all the top stories in 2022
B&I Eatery opened its doors in the fall of last year, and owner Nicole Isabell says that the folks just keep coming to get a taste of her down-home cooking.
Check out our Year in Review special section which recaps the top stories in 2022 from the Will Smith slap of Chris Rock to Vashon’s 13th state boys basketball title.
Page B1
Page D1
The Black Press of America entered its 195th year in 2022, highly engaged in the continued fight for freedom, justice, equality and equity. Just one year after the Jan. 6 insurrection not only threatened America’s democracy but freedom for people of color, the United States and the hundreds of millions of news consumers demonstrated a need for the Black Press like never before. Fake News and the growing number of overt racists who dispensed misinformation and false reports had taken over social media and mainstream Ketanji headlines. Brown But like in 2020, when the Jackson Black Press was the first to reveal that the coronavirus was airborne, the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) issued facts on which African Americans and others could rely. The NNPA is the trade association representing the more than 230 African American-owned newspapers and media companies that comprise the Black Press of America. Reeling from the deaths of American icon Sidney Poitier, Civil Rights leader and legal scholar Lani Guinier, Helen Chavis Othow, the beloved sister of NNPA President and C.E.O. Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., and many others, the Black Press challenged Congress. Many urged lawmakers to eliminate the racist filibuster that suppressed needed laws like the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) responded, calling for a vote to change the filibuster on Martin Luther King Jr.
See BLACK PRESS, A7
Helping St. Louis connect with other cultures The Anna E. Crosslin Multicultural Center for Excellence to open in January
By Andrea Y. Henderson St. Louis Public Radio The International Institute of St. Louis will open the Anna E. Crosslin Multicultural Center for Excellence in January to encourage people in the region to connect with those of other cultures. Visitors will be able to take cultural education classes and attend events. Business owners also can use the center for company training and seminars. The institute aims to foster multicultural connections, in which the broader community embraces immigrants and refugees and the center helps bring cultures together, International Institute
See CENTER, A6
HEALTH
Spending bill covers Missouri kids on Medicaid Missouri will be required to provide yearlong, continuous coverage for anyone under age 19 enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Page A10