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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited FEBRUARY 15 – 21, 2018
Vol. 89 No. 47 COMPLIMENTARY
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Ellison, Clay stump for minimum wage raise
Flag sparks racist threat to alderman John CollinsMuhammad receives threatening letter signed by KKK By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price
Democratic National Committee Deputy Chairman Keith Ellison and U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay joined striking workers at Christian Care Home, a Ferguson nursing home, on the picket line on Saturday, February 10.
DNC deputy chair joins striking workers on picket line in Ferguson By Jessica Karins For The St. Louis American Nationally prominent Democrats lent their voices to the cause of raising the minimum wage in Missouri on Saturday, February 10, when Democratic National Committee Deputy Chairman Keith Ellison and U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay came to Ferguson to speak up for racial and economic justice. Ellison, who represents Minnesota’s 5th
Congressional District and the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Congress, said raising the minimum wage is a moral issue. “This Raise the Wage fight is not just about money, it’s about dignity,” Ellison said at Wellspring Church in Ferguson. Both Ellison and Clay serve in both the Congressional Black Caucus and Progressive Caucus, and both have supported federal legislation to raise the minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 per hour.
Though raising the minimum wage has traditionally been a cause for progressive Democrats, Missouri Democratic Party Chairman Stephen Webber called for everyone across the political spectrum to get on board. “I pray that everybody, every one of our fellow Missourians, every person in the state, will recognize the importance of raising the minimum wage and the importance of taking care of our fellow citizens and fellow Missourians,” Webber said. In fact, Missouri Republicans have stood See WAGE, A7
Rice wins 8th Ward special election Independent soundly beats Democrat nominated by central committee to replace Conway
See FLAG, A6
Judge who sentenced Bostic asks U.S. Supreme Court to intervene ‘We simply did not know then what we know now about juveniles’ By American staff
By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Annie Rice, an immigration and civil rights lawyer and Black Lives Matter activist, will become the first woman to represent St. Louis’ 8th Ward at the Board of Aldermen, after she handily beat Democratic candidate Paul n “This showed that Fehler with 59.65 percent choice is important of the vote in the February for participation, for 13 special election. Rice received 1,279 votes and democracy. People get involved when they have Fehler 853 votes. Both candidates were choice on the ballot.” elected as Democratic committeemen in the – Annie Rice August 2016 primary. Alderman Steve Conway, who held the position for 27 years, vacated his seat in November after the mayor appointed him as city assessor. Rice, who is 32, ran for alderman as an Independent candidate after the St. Louis City See RICE, A6
Alderman John Collins-Muhammad of the 21st Ward received a letter allegedly from the Ku Klux Klan at his aldermanic office on Thursday, February 8 threatening to “pay him a visit” if he doesn’t take down the Pan-African flag honoring Black History Month outside of City Hall. “It’s truly disgusting and very disturbing,” Collins-Muhammad said. On February 1, the African American Aldermanic Caucus held a ceremony downtown to raise the Pan-African flag, which is red, black and green. In 2014, the black caucus passed a resolution directing the city to display the flag throughout Black History Month. Muhammad co-leads outreach for the caucus along Photo by Carolina with 3rd Ward Alderman Hidalgo / St. Louis Brandon Bosley. Public Radio “This country is ours,” the Alderman letter stated. “Your actions John Collinsin flying that damned flag Muhammad is disgraceful. To have that shameful flag soaring under the Old Glory of the U.S.A. is wrong. It will not be tolerated.” The letter was signed by “The Sons of the Grand Knights, The Ku Klux Klan.” The St. Louis American called the Ku Klux Klan L.L.C. that is based out of Arkansas but was not able to connect with the group. Collins-Muhammad turned the letter over to police. An investigation is ongoing. “I don’t take it seriously,” Collins-Muhammad said. “Whenever your life is threatened, you should take it seriously. But I don’t see it as a
Photo by Rebecca Rivas
Annie Rice (center) celebrated her decisive win in the 8th Ward aldermanic special election on February 13 at her campaign headquarters, 4448 Shaw Blvd., with 15th Ward Committeewoman Torrey Park and 5th Ward Committeeman Rasheen Aldridge.
Retired Judge Evelyn Baker sentenced Bobby Bostic, in effect, to die in prison for his role as an accomplice in robberies committed one night when he was 16 years old. Now she has seen the error of her sentencing and has added her name to the list of 26 former judges, prosecutors and law enforcement officials asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in his case. “At the time that I sentenced Bobby Bostic, the laws were different: It was constitutional to execute a Bobby Bostic juvenile,” Baker said. “When I sentenced Bobby there had been no studies on how the brain developed. We simply did not know then what we know now about juveniles.” Baker, who spent 25 years as a St. Louis See BOSTIC, A7