Helping women ‘get unstuck’
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St. LouiS AmericAn CAC Audited DECEMBER 7 – 13, 2023
Serving, empowering and advocating for equity in St. Louis since 1928
Vol. 95 No. 35 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Harris-Stowe education department faces crisis
STL Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore will run in 2024 ‘Politics won’t scare me away’
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore announced on Wednesday he will run for the office in 2024. Gore was appointed to replace departed former Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner after she first resigned and then quit on May 16, 2023.
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American What a difference a day makes. On Tuesday, Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore held a press conference detailing his first six months in the office after replacing the departed Kim Gardner, who quit on May 16, 2023. He was asked if he would run for a full four-year term, and said he was still contemplating whether he wanted to seek a public office through an election campaign. From the day of his appointment until Wednesday he was asked if he would seek the office. He said he was too focused on getting the CAO running efficiently again. Overnight, he concluded he would run.
See GORE, A7
Its dean leaves abruptly By Sylvester Brown Jr. St. Louis American In 1993, Harris-Stowe State College expanded beyond offering educational majors, which were its standard since the 19th Century, and was awarded status as a state university. The institution officially became Harris Stowe State University in 2005. The future of the school’s Department of Education, one that has helped create thousands of Black educators for more than 100 years, is clouded because it failed to meet Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Latonia Education (DESE) stanCollins dards for training new Smith teachers. In addition, HarrisStowe was placed “on notice” by the state’s Higher Learning Commission last year for being at risk of falling out of compliance with accreditation requirements. Its current issue is failMarrix ure to submit the number Seymore of education majors who enrolled and completed the program in 2023. The university is the only educator preparation program out of 43 statewide - and one of only three in the country - to receive letters of noncompliance. Harris-Stowe State University’s accreditation status will be reviewed during the Missouri State Board of Education’s
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
See HARRIS-STOWE, A6
CBC seeks to make Rosa Parks Day a reality
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Holiday wonder Tyrus Caves (3), is happy to be going home with a toy that he picked out during the Affinia Health Care Winter Wonderland for Children at its north county facility Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023.
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA
lyrics and voices that fooled many online users into believing the artists had released a new pop song. The rapid rise of AI technology has been greeted with enthusiasm, indifference or, in some cases, great alarm. With
Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white person and move to the rear of a Montgomery, Alabama bus on Dec. 1, 1955. 68 years after her arrest and the landmark moment in the civil rights movement, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell of Alabama, along with Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) Chair Steven Horsford of Nevada and Rep. Joyce Beatty of Rosa Ohio, held a press conParks ference on Capitol Hill to rally support for H.R. 308, the Rosa Parks Day Act. Among its 31 co-sponsors is Congresswoman Cori Bush of St. Louis. The proposed legislation aims to designate December 1 as a federal holiday in honor of Parks, recognizing her pivotal
See BLACK VOTERS, A6
See PARKS, A7
Artificial Intelligence could be threat to Black voters By Sylvester Brown Jr. St. Louis American
n “For democracies, AI has to be in service of the public interest.”
Many Americans, especially those current on social media trends - are familiar with artificial intelligence (AI). The term refers to the simulation or emulation of human intelligence. AI today is used across various industries including movies, music, journalism, healthcare, and finance. With the use of computer-enhanced learning it can create content, predict financial outcomes, help develop new drugs, diagnose diseases, replicate images of actors, and create songs that sound like real musical artists. Just ask artists, Drake or The Weeknd. Recently an anonymous TikTok-er used AI to create a catchy song with a beat,
– Vice President, Kamala Harris
HEALTH
SPORTS
Yes, Black couples face fertility issues too
Cardinal Ritter rips Republic to win state championship
Long-held stereotypes, medical bias, and stigma have convinced society that Black people don’t deal with infertility. Unfortunately, this type of medical misinformation has also convinced Black couples.
Despite the effort of a solid Republic team, Cardinal Ritter roared to a 38-25 victory to win the Missouri Class 5 state championship on Friday night on the campus of the University of Missouri-Columbia.
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