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CAC Audited JANUARY 21 – 27, 2021
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“We must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured.” — President Joe Biden
Biden inaugurated as 46th president
Vol. 92 No. 43 COMPLIMENTARY
Boyd challenges Workhouse closure St. Louis Alderman wants bill put on April ballot
By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Lawrence Bryant for the St. Louis American
Kamala Harris takes the oath of office for vice president of the United States Wednesday from Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, with her right hand on a Bible held by Harris’ husband, Douglas Emhoff. The Bible belonged to the late Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. President Joe Biden is at right; U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, is at left.
Harris makes history as VP
By Dana Rieck Of The St. Louis American
Joe Biden was sworn in Wednesday as the 46th president of the United States, while Kamala Harris became the first woman, first Black person and first South Asian person to take the oath of office as vice president. The inauguration ceremony took place on the U.S. Capitol’s West Front, one of the locations where a pro-Trump mob overpowered police and stormed the building Jan. 6. Due to coronavirus protocols, streets that are normally packed with inauguration attendees were mostly empty. In honor of the people that usually fill the National Mall during an inauguration, nearly 200,000
n “My fellow Americans we have to be different than this, we have to be better than this, and I believe America is better than this.” — President Joe Biden
American flags were placed as a tribute. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, began the ceremony with a speech driving home the idea that the country’s democracy is strong and will carry on. She is a member of the Joint Congressional Committee on
Inaugural Ceremonies. “We celebrate a new president, Joe Biden, who vows to restore the soul of American and cross the river of our divides to a higher plain,” she said. U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, spoke after Klobuchar. Blunt is the chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. He said the inauguration ceremony is both commonplace and miraculous. “Commonplace because we’ve done it every four years since 1789, miraculous because we’ve done it every four years since 1789,” Blunt said. “Americans have celebrat-
See BIDEN, A6
What does ‘defund the police’ mean to you? Mayoral candidates answer the question
Ahead of the St. Louis Primary Election on March 2, The St. Louis American is asking a series of questions of the candidates for mayor of the city of St. Louis. Following are their responses. Andrew Jones Jr. While I know that “defund Tishaura O. Andrew the police” has evolved to mean Jones Jones Jr. “restructure police budgets to allow for more social intervention from licensed clinicians” in many eyes, I do not believe that every police protestor holds that feeling. I think a surprising amount of the citizenry wants to strip the
Lewis Reed
funding from our police forces, which I do not agree with. While our police have not been perfect, I do feel that they are doing their best and to take away funding while we are facing the worst murder numbers of any city in the nation would be ill-advised. We must instead implement the best possible practices to make Cara sure the men and women who Spencer provide selfless service to our communities can be both safe and effective. This should
See CANDIDATES, A6
Several members of the St. Louis Board of Aldermen debated last week for more than an hour regarding a bill introduced by Alderman Jeffrey Boyd that would put a question about closing the Workhouse on the April ballot. Boyd is vice chair of the board’s Public Safety Committee, which met by Zoom on Jan. 14 to discuss Board Bill 212. The bill would add a quesn “I’m almost tion to the April 6 general offended that election ballot asking respeople have a idents whether they think problem with the city should close St. asking voters if Louis’ Medium Security Institution, commonly we should do known as the Workhouse. this.” The vote would be nonbinding, meaning it acts — Alderman more as a survey to gauge Jeffrey Boyd, public opinion on the issue 22nd Ward and does not require action from the government. “We’ve heard for at least a year now different conversations about closing the Workhouse,” Boyd said. “I’m of the mindset the Workhouse belongs to the people and the people should have a voice when it comes to closing the Workhouse.” Boyd represents Ward 22, which covers parts of the Hamilton Heights, Mark Twain I-70 Industrial, Wells Goodfellow and West End neighborhoods. The Workhouse has operated on Hall Street near the Mississippi riverfront since 1966. The Close the Workhouse Campaign says the vast majority of people held at the Workhouse are
See WORKHOUSE, A7
Report names 80 killer officers in St. Louis region ArchCity Defenders cites 179 known victims of ‘fatal state violence’ this decade
By Sophie Hurwitz Of the St. Louis American When Cary T. Ball Jr. was killed by a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer in 2013, his mother, Toni Taylor, said she “realized when n “If I can help a loved one is taken from save another you by police brutality family from there’s nothing you can the pain we go do.” Facing unresponsive through … I’d courts, a lack of legal supnever wish it on port, and faltering social no one.” services, she fought for eight years for justice for — Gina Torres, her son. mother of Isaiah But as Taylor came Hammett, who to realize, she is not alone was killed by in her fight. All over St. police in 2017 Louis, families of those killed by police continue to fight for justice in a system where it often seems that everything is stacked against them. Taylor’s anecdotal knowledge of the frequency of experiences like hers, corroborated in survi-
See OFFICERS, A7