Mahomes showed he’s more than just ‘showtime’
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited FEBRUARY 6 – 12, 2020
91 years serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis
Vol. 91 No. 46 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
‘I became a voice’
‘We don’t want this Workhouse fully funded’ Board of Aldermen move to starve notorious city jail of funding By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price
Seth Akakpo-Lado, a former resident at Boys Hope Girls Hope house in Richmond Heights, tutored current resident scholar Michael Gaven, 13, in math on January 27.
Alderman Dan Guenther is not urging the St. Louis Board of Aldermen to “lock themselves to the door” of the Medium Security Institute (MSI), also known as the Workhouse, in order to get the jail closed down, Guenther said at the January 29 aldermanic public safety committee. “We are saying, ‘Let’s start coming up with a transition plan,’” said Guenther, who represents the 9th Ward. “We don’t want this Workhouse fully funded.” On January 17, Guenther introduced a resolution “advising” the Board of Estimate and Apportionment (E&A) — which includes the mayor, comptroller and president of the Board of Aldermen — that aldermen will not approve a budget for fiscal year 2020-2021 that includes full funding to the Workhouse. It also asks the Board of E&A to come up with a plan to close the Workhouse and direct the approximately $16 See WORKHOUSE, A7
Boys Hope Girls Hope helped African immigrant succeed in St. Louis By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American When Seth Akakpo-Lado began the 6th grade at Herzog Elementary School, he had just immigrated from Togo, West Africa and spoke no English, so he was put into the third grade instead. His teachers quickly realized that he was a fast learner, though, especially when he started finishing all his work early, despite not having learned English fluently.
“I would breeze through my assignments and then go to the library or just walk around the school,” Akakpo-Lado said. “And they couldn’t really tell me not to, because then I would pretend that I didn’t understand them!” He became close to office staff members and helped them out with various tasks. Soon, AkakpoLado’s teachers redirected some of his energy
n “Although Boys Hope Girls Hope kind of disrupts the traditional family environment, they try vehemently to maintain a sense of normalcy for the scholars.” – Seth Akakpo-Lado
See BOYS GIRLS, A6
Celebrating 10th anniversary of upbeat networking event
Threat of strike leads to ‘tentative agreement’
By K. Michael Jones Of The St. Louis American
Janitors will vote on offer this week By Sophie Hurwitz For The St. Louis American Three days after 17 janitors and allies were arrested in a downtown protest, the SEIU Local 1 union representing 2,100 janitors in the St. Louis area voted “overwhelmingly” to strike if they were not able to win a $15/
hour wage through negotiation. By the end of that day, they reached a tentative agreement with the janitorial company Clean-Tech, which they have been in protracted negotiations with since October. Union members will vote on the agreement this week. See JANITORS, A7
Young Leaders awardees announced for 2020
Photo by Wiley Price
Janitors and allies protested in downtown St. Louis on Monday, January 27 in support of a $15 an hour wage for the city’s janitorial workers, who at the moment are generally receiving around $10 an hour.
A diverse group of 20 accomplished African-American professionals under age 40 has been selected as the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2020 class of Salute to Young Leader award recipients. Nominated by colleagues, friends and family, they will be profiled in the February 20 edition of The St. Louis American and will be honored at the St. Louis American Foundation’s 10th annual Salute to Young Leaders Networking Awards Reception at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 20 at the Four Seasons Hotel St. Louis, 999 N. 2nd St. This year’s cohort of Young Leaders includes a senior vice president of a local bank, a senior project manager of a $16 bilSee LEADERS, A6