Johnny Gill and Keith Sweat bring R&B to Fair Saint Louis
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
91 years of serving the St. Louis community
CAC Audited JULY 11 – 17, 2019
Vol. 91 No. 16 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
ACLU wins appeal Grand jury over Ashcroft dismissed in Gardner case Gardner’s attorney questions roles of special prosecutor, judge
Will proceed with referendum process on abortion ban
n “Blocking the ballot box was a cowardly move designed to silence the people’s voice.”
By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American
– Tony Rothert, ACLU of Missouri
Secretary of State John (Jay) Ashcroft appeals the case to the Missouri Supreme Court and prevails, Missouri voters will have a chance to reject the abortion ban after eight weeks (with no exceptions for incest or other forms of rape) signed into law by Missouri Governor Mike Parson. A three judge panel in the Western District Court of
Appeals upheld the constitutional right of Missourians to a voter referendum on Monday, July 8, in a suit filed by the ACLU of Missouri. The panel ruled that Ashcroft acted illegally in his See ACLU, A6
By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American The gag order over the William Tisaby case expired on Monday, July 8 — at the end of the grand jury’s term. And on July 10, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner’s attorney came out with a heated statement. “In my almost 20 years as a civil rights attorney, there are few matters I’ve worked on as troubling as the sham investigation into St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner,” attorney Roy Austin, who is based in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. “From start to finish, this process has been a thinly veiled attempt by St. Louis’s old boys network to manipulate the law in order to exact political revenge for Circuit Attorney Gardner’s efforts to reform the criminal justice system, conduct full and fair investigations of police misconduct, and hold former Governor Eric Greitens accountable for his personal actions.” On June 14, Tisaby — the circuit attorney’s private investigator during Greitens’ felonious invasion of privacy trial — was indicted on six counts of felonious perjury charges and one count of tampering with evidence. While the indictment was for Tisaby, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Gardner’s actions were highlighted just Kimberly Gardner as much in the 30-page document. The indictment states that Gardner was present during Tisaby’s deposition and knew what he said was wrong but didn’t correct the record. The Tisaby deposition ultimately led to Gardner dropping the case. Greitens later resigned as governor. Gardner has not been able to comment on the charges because of the
Photo by Bill Greenblatt / UPI
Learning to swim for safety’s sake Mica Chambers instructed Cyrus Reed, 8, how to float on his back during a water safety class at Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis’ Herbert Hoover campus on Monday, July 8. For the 5th year in a row, the club hosted a four-day water safety camp, bringing life-saving water safety skills to more than 100 children.
See GARDNER, A7
‘If we weren’t going to do it for our children, who would?’ Village of Moms promotes literacy in the black community
Historic black neighborhood honored with statue Barbre Park in Webster Groves hosts sculpture by Preston Jackson depicting scenes from history By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
By Francene Bethune For The St. Louis American Mia Daugherty lives in a neighborhood where poverty is nothing new and school is often an afterthought, but from the moment her daughter was born she was determined to forge a bright future here for her daughter. Daugherty serves as one of the organizers of the Village of Moms. She, along with other moms, came together early last year to think of problems within the black community that they can address. They started with literacy. “When you look at it, black children in our community read at least two grade levels lower than the other children in different neighborhoods,” said Daugherty. “So something needed to be done about it.” The organization hosted its second annual Reading Village at the See MOMS, A6
Photo by Wiley Price
Webster Groves dedicated a sculpture in tribute to its African-American community of North Webster in Barbre Park on Saturday, June 1.
North Webster is one of the oldest AfricanAmerican communities in the St. Louis region. Longtime resident Kathryn Dehart remembers when black grocery stores and businesses flourished in the community. “We had everything in North Webster,” said Dehart, who is part of the North Webster Neighborhood Coalition. “I have lived here all my life. There are some of you out there who have experienced the same thing I have. We have hoped this day would come.” Dehart spoke at the June 1 commemoration of a sculpture in Barbre Park that is meant to honor See STATUE, A7