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CAC Audited JANUARY 17 – 23, 2019
COMPLIMENTARY
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Rev. Bobo steps down at West Side Baptist After 32 years, pastor is succeeded by his son By Chris King Of The St. Louis American Rev. Ronald L. Bobo – who delivered his last sermon at West Side Missionary Baptist Church on Sunday, January 13 after 32 years as its senior pastor and 40 years in the ministry overall – asked his son, Rev. Charles Bobo Sr., to join him on staff at West Side several years ago, looking toward this moment. “One of the major reasons I am leaving
– it’s not that anyone asked me to leave or for medical reasons – was I recognized the necessity of reaching the next generation,” Rev. Ronald L. Bobo told The American. “And, as we age, we are not able to reach that generation that is coming on as easily. I want this church not only to survive, but to thrive, so we need someone of that younger generation.” His son, who had been the first African-
See BOBO, A7
Vol. 90 No. 43
Photo by Lawrence Bryant
Rev. Ronald L. Bobo greeted congregants of West Side Missionary Baptist Church at the celebration of his 25th anniversary as senior pastor in June 2011.
Starting a national campaign against racism Dr. Camera Jones to speak at Washington University School of Medicine on January 21 By Chris King Of The St. Louis American Dr. Camara Jones was teaching a one-week intensive course at the University of Global Health Equity in Kigali, Rwanda when Dr. Will Ross was finalizing plans for her to present the 2019 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Lecture presented by the Washington University School of Medicine Office of Diversity Programs. So she approved Ross’ proposed title for her lecture – “Racism and Health: Is Inequality Making Us Sick?” – without being in a position to give the matter her complete attention. Dr. Camera She knows the answer Jones to the question posed in the title: inequality – and, more particularly, racism – is definitely both making people sick and infecting our culture. As one of the world’s leading epidemiologists (she is a former research director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and past president of the American Public Health Association), she can do the data. But, for some time, she has been moving from
See JONES, A7
Judges urged to reform use of electronic monitoring By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Photo by Wiley Price
Offering a helping hand Bryan Hill Pre-K student Dymond Clark paints the hands of classmate Jersey Land on Wednesday, January 16 as part of an Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday art project in honor of the slain civil rights leader.
I am the change agent St. Louis needs By state Senator Jamilah Nasheed For The St. Louis American This March, our city has the opportunity to elect a new president of the Board of Aldermen with the vision, drive, and ability to bring real change to St. Louis. As a city, we have many strengths, but we just as many challenges: poverty, unemployment, crime, over-incarceration, development deals that don’t benefit the community. The current president, Lewis Reed, has been at City Hall
since 1999. In those 20 years, Reed has not made our city better. He is best known for his coziness with his campaign donors and often switches his position on issues – important issues like the minimum wage, the airport, and stadium deals – in coordination with checks written to bolster his campaign coffers. He is simply not reliable, and we can’t trust him to fight for what truly matters. After 20 years in City Hall, Reed has been there long
See NASHEED, A6
Jamilah Nasheed
The 22nd Judicial Circuit Court in St. Louis is quite literally shackling poor residents with debt, claim leaders of the St. Louis Public Defender’s Office and local organizations. In a January 10 joint letter to the circuit court judges, organization leaders alleged that the court is allowing its private contractor Eastern Missouri Alternative Sentencing Services (EMASS) to unconstitutionally extort poor St. Louis residents by charging them monthly fees for pre-trial GPS monitoring ankle Issac bracelets and other services. McClendon “The practices highlighted in this letter not only jeopardize someone’s individual liberty, they reveal an expanding landscape of mass incarceration through the proliferation of a money-based electronic monitoring industry,” said Blake Strode, executive
See JUDGES, A6