Pine Lawn breaks ground on park upgrade
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited JULY 23 – 29, 2020
92 years serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis
Vol. 92 No. 17 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
FebruAry 21, 1940 – JuLy 17, 2020
Gardner attacked for charging McCloskeys
‘The conscience of the Congress’ Civil rights icon U.S. Rep John Lewis passes at 80
State rep who witnessed events said due process reduced to ‘political sideshow’
By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American U.S. Representative John R. Lewis spent his youth putting his life on the line across the South in the name of equality for Black people. It was a fight he eventually carried into the halls of Congress, where he served for more than 30 years. After a life dedicated to racial equity and social justice, Lewis passed away from pancreatic cancer on Friday, July 17. He was 80 years old. “He loved this country so much that he risked his life and his blood so that it might live up to its promise,” said President Barack Obama. “And through the decades, he not only gave all of himself to the cause of freedom and justice, but inspired generations that fol-
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By Chris King Of The St. Louis American Photo: CNN
John Lewis revisited the scene of his most famous battle at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, two years after the March on Washington.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner – the first Black person to serve as the city’s chief prosecutor – has charged two wealthy white attorneys for flourishing weapons at peaceful protestors. Powerful Republicans – the president, the governor, a U.S. senator and the state attorney general – attacked her and defended the accused. And a Black congressman, two state representatives, and Missouri’s own wall of moms have risen in her defense. All the while, Gardner is working under death threats while campaigning for office. In fact, every elected official caught up in this battle is on the August 4 ballot, which helps to explain the furor. On Monday, July 20, Gardner charged both Mark and Patricia McCloskey with St. Louis unlawful use of a weapon, which is a Circuit Attorney Class E felony. The charges stem from the Kimberly McCloskeys confronting peaceful protestors Gardner with weapons when they passed in front of their home on a private street in the Central West End on June 28. “It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis,” Gardner said. The McCloskeys’ attorney Joel J. Schwartz said they will See McCLOSKEYS, A7
Photo by Wiley Price Photo by Carolina Hidalgo/St. Louis Public Radio
Strike for Black lives Barbara Johnson led a chant as local fast food workers and supporters rallied to demand that corporations and government take action to confront systemic racism and low wages among people of color on Monday, July 20 in front of the McDonald’s franchise on North Tucker Boulevard in Downtown St. Louis. Fast food workers rallied as part of 25-city protest from coast to coast.
Absentee voting underway Primary election is August 4, vote now at the election board By Rebecca Rivas Of the St. Louis American The deadline to request an absentee ballot in St. Louis passed on July 22, but voters can still skip potential lines in the Tuesday, August 4 primary election. You can vote absentee Monday through Friday at the election headquarters in both the St. Louis City (300 N. Tucker Blvd.) and St. Louis County (725 Northwest Plaza Dr.) until the day before the election. There, you will fill out the absentee request form and vote all in one visit. This process began on June 23. “It’s really no different than going to a polling location on
election day,” said Eric Fey, Democratic director of elections for the St. Louis County Election Board. “The procedure is pretty much the same.” Both the city and county have not had any lines, officials said, and about 45% of the votes cast in the August 4 primary election will be done by absentee ballots. On Thursday, July 23, the county will open up four more satellite locations for walk-in absentee voting or to drop off ballots received by mail. They are St. Louis County Library Mid-County Branch (7821 Maryland Ave.), North County Recreation Complex (2577 Redman Road), South County See VOTING, A6
Inez Bordeaux, manager of Community Collaborations at ArchCity Defenders and Lead Organizer with the Close the Workhouse campaign, as the group unveiled its plans at a press conference in January of 2020.
Aldermen vote to close the Workhouse Comptroller warns it could be only ‘a symbolic gesture’ By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American On July 18, 2017, thousands of St. Louisans heard the desperate cries of people held at the Medium Security Institution, known as the Workhouse, in a Facebook video. Inmates were enduring 100-plus degree weather with no air conditioning, and the dangerous conditions ignited intense protests outside the jail, located at 7600 North Hall St. Three years later— almost to the day of the video posting — on Friday, July 17, the St. Louis Board of Aldermen unanimously passed a bill to close the Workhouse by the end of the year. “This move is an important step for the city when it comes to See WORKHOUSE, A6