Regional Arts Commission finds strength at 40
St. Louis American See page A5
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DECEMBER 4 – 10, 2025
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Acknowledging the problem
One man’s story of survival offers new ideas for preventing gun violence
M
By Sylvester Brown Jr. St. Louis American ore than 800,000 people in the past 25 years have lost their lives to gun violence in the United States. Another 2 million or more have been injured. A Washington University researcher and a new study authored by 60 leading experts offer alternative ideas aimed at reducing firearm deaths. Research and data collection are essential, but will those findings resonate with people directly affected by gun violence?
A survivor’s story Patches Holmes, 57, is still haunted by an incident that occurred 33 years ago when he was 24. Holmes and a friend had just exited a liquor store at MLK and Goodfellow when a stranger walked up behind them and demanded money. Holmes set the case of beer down and grabbed the barrel of the gun from the surprised assailant. As they tussled, he felt three hot bullets strike his arm, back and leg. Holmes still has questions about that day. “I hadn’t done anything to him. Why would he do that?”
See GUN VIOLENCE, A14
Catalyst for arts and culture
Vol. 97 No. 34 COMPLIMENTARY
Gambling expands As sports betting launches in Missouri, Black residents face higher risks
By Sylvester Brown Jr. and Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American When sports wagering went live in Missouri on Monday, St. Louis sports fans Craig Riggins and Ledrick Wilson didn’t waste time logging on. For years, both men crossed the river to place bets in Illinois. Now, with a mobile app in hand, they say convenience and cost were the immediate draw. “For me, it’s a gas thing,” said Riggins, 65, a KTRS radio sports announcer and automotive industry salesman. “I don’t have to purchase as much gas traveling to Illinois anymore. We’re finally catching up with the rest of the country and, besides that, it’s good for the state.” But as legal betting expands, Missouri is poised to inherit a set of problems long documented in other states: rising gambling addiction, financial losses and mental health strains that fall hardest on Black residents, according to national research. Black bettors are more likely to wager, more likely to increase betting after seeing ads and more likely to suffer the economic fallout. Critics also question claims
See BETTING, A14
Regional Arts Commission of St. Louis (RAC) President and CEO Vanessa Cooksey (center) joined the second line at RAC’s 40th Birthday Bash during the summer. Read about RAC’s restructure and resilience in the Business section (A5).
Photo courtesy of Anderson family
Mary Ellen Anderson, an educator, musician and social-change advocate, died Nov. 23 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
Photo courtesy of RAC
INSIDE SPORTS
Faulk is new head coach at Southern New Orleans native Marshall Faulk is returning to his home state as Southern University head coach after serving as Deion Sanders’ running backs coach at Colorado for one season.
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‘We welcome everybody’ Mercy Hospital holds firm on DEI principles
By Sylvester Brown Jr. The St. Louis American The Trump administration’s intensified crackdown on diversity, equity and inclusion programs through executive orders and federal enforcement actions have created uncertainty for hospitals, universities and medDr. David ical schools that depend heavily Meiners on federal research dollars. The Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice have signaled heightened scru-
‘She let it shine’
Mary Ellen Anderson, educator, patron of the arts, dies at 103 By Nia Hightower For The St. Louis American
tiny of programs that may be deemed discriminatory, advising hospitals that receive federal funding to review DEI programming tied to Medicaid services, federal employee health benefits, military healthcare, and other government-supported operations. But even with the heightened scrutiny, Mercy Hospital St. Louis says its commitment to equity will not change.
At 103, Mary Ellen Anderson lived long enough to see the Ville neighborhood of her childhood completely transformed, the rise and fall of segregationist laws that she marched against and the thousands of students she taught to read, perform or draw a bow across violin strings. The educator, musician and advocate died Nov. 23 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “Simply saying that she was an educator isn’t adequate,” says Dale Anderson. “My mom did teach elementary school for a few years, but her love was teaching music and teaching theater.” She not only taught the arts, she
See MERCY, A15
See ANDERSON, A15