Fashion resolution Honey’s Child helps curves and style coincide for the New Year.
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CAC Audited JANUARY 9 – 15, 2014
Vol. 84 No. 40 COMPLIMENTARY
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What makes relationships work? News anchor Shirley Washington pens novel of family love and struggle By Bridjes O’Neil Of The St. Louis American KTVI-TV news anchor and reporter Shirley Washington recently sat down with The American to discuss her first novel, The Diary. The Diary is a heartwarming tale of a loving husband who secretively plans to surprise his wife with a special gift in honor of their 10-year wedding anniversary,
but ends up fighting to save his marriage amid allegations of betrayal and deceit. “Relationships have always been intriguing to me,” Washington said, with a chuckle. “What makes them work and not work?” She wrote the book to celebrate all that a family is intended to be, and can be, when there is devotion, love and forgiveness. But people tend to get caught up in
pettiness, unwilling to forgive and move on, she said. “It takes too much energy to be angry and bitter,” she said. “At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. Use that energy on things that are positive.” She has been struck by the impact the book is already
Shirley Washington
having on readers. “A young man who read the book said to me, ‘It made me want to be a better husband and father,’” she said. “I sort of trembled, because that’s really what it’s all about.” She has two other books under her belt. She co-authored The
n “It takes too much energy to be angry and bitter.” – Shirley Washington
Motherhood Club: Help, Hope, and Inspiration for New Mothers from New Mothers with Ann L. Dunnewold, a licensed psychologist. She was inspired
by her own challenges as a first-time mother. “I’m on the phone almost See NOVEL, A7
‘How can we make this better?’ Sweet Potato Project empowers by design By Sylvester Brown Jr. For The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price
Shoveling the Temple Jacquelyn and Ricky Brown braved the cold on Tuesday afternoon to clear a path for their fellow church members at Williams Temple Church of God in Christ, 1500 Union Blvd. The St. Louis area received 12 to 15 inches of snow in a 24-hour period starting Sunday. On Monday, the temperature dipped down to -11, with wind chills as low as -20 and -35 degrees.
Is it possible to develop land, housing and economic activity in low-income communities that actually empowers at-risk populations? This was a rather abstract concept for me until Jasmin Aber paid a visit to the Sweet Potato Project this past summer. Aber is a European-trained architect and co-author of The Future of Shrinking Cities – Problems, Patterns and Strategies of Urban Transformation in a Global Context. She has worked as a consultant/designer on local projects such as the Gateway Mall, St. Louis River Front Design & Development and Old North St. Louis. In 2008, Aber founded the nonprofit Creative Exchange Laboratory (CEL), Sylvester an incubator and forum for architecture Brown Jr. and design. CEL’s primary mission is to encourage graduate students and emerging architects to gain valuable experience through public interest projects. “We’re not necessarily waiting for a wealthy client to come to us and say, ‘Brand me’ or ‘design a beautiful house or headquarters,’” Aber said. “We proactively look in the See PROJECT, A7
French School students Daphne Bishop and Deangelo Robinson, who are now first graders, play together in kindergarten. The St. Louis Language Immersion school district now has three campuses – the French, Spanish and Chinese schools – and a fourth one is on the way.
Immersed in languages STL Language Immersion Schools recognized internationally By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American A group of second graders at the French School, a local language-immersion charter school, recently fought for the right to use school lockers – and won. Speaking in French, the students presented their arguments to Head of School Conrad Wildsmith. Leading an issue-oriented campaign was part of their class curriculum, but the second graders
took it a step further to fundraise for the cost to pay for new locker keys – an expense that kept the school from allowing students to use the lockers previously, said Rhonda Broussard, president and founder of the St. Louis Language Immersion Schools. The second graders’ campaign is one example of what sets the immersion schools’ curriculum apart from other schools, she said. “Students are expected to be actors,” she See SCHOOLS, A6 Photo by Bill Zurheide