Blacks at higher risk for Lupus infection
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St. Louis American See page A8
The
Serving, empowering and advocating for equity in St. Louis since 1928
CAC Audited JULY 11 – 17, 2024
Vol. 96 No. 14 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
A star and a survivor
Triumphs and challenges Kitty Ratcliffe shares her insights with The American
Jenifer Lewis to be honored by STL Walk of Fame after dangerous fall in Africa
She has led the CVC since 2006 By Mike Jones For The St. Louis American American: You’ve been the head of the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission for 18 years. what was the road that brought you to St Louis? KR: I started my career as the one-person shop director for the Carbondale Convention and Tourism Bureau. One day I was at a meeting when the man who n “I’ve been the job that I have now fortunate enough had asked me if I’d be interested to have a career in a sales job they had open in doing something St. Louis. That was in 1985. I was moved to St. Louis to do I truly love.” convention sales. After 4 years I was recruited for the Director – Kitty Ratcliffe of Marketing job for a hotel in Denver and I moved on. Over the years I took increasingly more responsible roles in Baltimore (VP Sales and Marketing), Jacksonville (President) and New Orleans (Executive Vice President), and then one day I got the call for this job in St. Louis. I came back here in 2006.
See RATCLIFFE, A7
By Kenya Vaughn The St. Louis American
Courtesy photo
Kitty Ratlciffe and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones have collaborated closely throughout Jones’ political career as has each mayor since Ratliffe became president and CEO of the St. Lous Convention and Visitors Commission in 2006.
Two days from the two-year anniversary that Kinloch native Jenifer Lewis was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, her name will be enshrined on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Is the date a coincidence? Absolutely not. The stage, film and television actress and singer received her Hollywood star on “Jackie Washington Day,” the fictional holiday from her cult-classic Lifetime network film “Jackie’s Back.” Because July 15 lands on a Monday, the celebration in St. Louis is scheduled for Saturday, July 13. The Webster University alum is one of a very select few who has stars in both places. “I really don’t Jenifer Lewis want to compare the two,” Lewis said. “But The St. Louis Walk of Fame goes a little deeper because it’s home. I haven’t written my speech yet, but at the end of every paragraph there will be two words: thank you.” Lewis was as hilarious as ever when she spoke to The American last week about the upcoming honor, even though the life-altering moment that magnified her constant state of gratitude was no
See LEWIS, A7
Mayor Jones, Chief Tracy decry loose gun laws
Photo courtesy of Archcitydefenders.org
St. Louisans were dancing with delight in Fairground Park during the Freedom Summer STL Juneteenth event on June 19, 2024. Freedom Summer STL is a multidisciplinary effort focusing on four priority areas: voting, expungement, abolition, and housing justice.
Freedom Summer STL A Nod to the Past; A Path for the Future n “We’re trying to create ways for people to be a part of this democratic project that’s shaping all our lives.”
that could be sustained after student activists left Mississippi. Today, a local legal advocacy organization, ArchCity Defenders and its partner It almost seems unfathomable. A mere agencies kicked off “Freedom Summer 60 years ago – the lifetime of a young STL” during the Juneteenth weekend. grandparent – Black and white Americans Noting that this year is also the 10th anniwere engaged in a bloody and brutal strugversary of the Ferguson Uprising following gle to attain the simple but constitutional – Blake Strode, executhe police killing of Michael Brown Jr., right to vote. That time in 1964 saw such tive director of ArchCity events connected to “Freedom Summer courageous activism and was so confronta- Defenders STL” include civics training and legal sertional and so critical, it’s been designated vices, criminal record expungement support “Freedom Summer.” and other civil and human rights and comThe 1960s project was designed to draw munity-building activities. the nation’s attention to the violent persecution Mississippi This year, the Deaconess Foundation awarded a $100,000 blacks experienced in their attempt to exercise their voting “Policy Campaign Award” to ArchCity in support of rights. Unlike similar direct-action efforts in southern cities Freedom Summer STL. The grant is gifted to organizations like Montgomery and Birmingham, white Mississippi segworking in the arena of “political and voter rights education regationists put up intense, brutal and murderous resistance. The goal of the organizers was to strategically resist oppression while developing a grassroots voting rights movement See FREEDOM, A6 By Sylvester Brown Jr. The St. Louis American
BUSINESS
By Justina Coronel Ksdk.com A violent July 4th weekend saw police report that 24 people were shot in 16 different shooting incidents. Officers also arrested 37 people downtown, with 15 arrests involving firearms. A total of 39 firearms were seized. “We are making the proper investments with our police in overtime to make sure downtown is safe and vibrant and beautiful. We are also pulling in our private partners to reinforce that message. We’re doing everything that we can to make sure that downtown stays safe for anybody who wants to come visit and have fun here,” Jones said. Jones told reporters her own teenage son was downtown on the Fourth of July. “Unfortunately, he was downtown just before all of that happened. He was driving around with his friends, but he
See GUN LAWS, A6 SPORTS
Microenterprise program helps Sistas’ Pop culture success
St. Louis American Prep Year in Review
Innovative service provided at no charge by Legal Services of Eastern Missouri helps aspiring, low-income entrepreneurs gain the knowledge and resources they need to succeed.
The 2023-24 year of high school sports was tremendous. The area produced a multitude of sparkling individual performances and state championship teams throughout the year.
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