Ferguson play debuted by Black Rep gets broader audience
@stlouisamerican
@stlouisamerican
See page D1
St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited JULY 25 – 31, 2019
91 years of serving and empowering the St. Louis community
Vol. 91 No. 18 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
‘Abandoning the people of Wellston is not an option’ County executive fights Trump Administration’s plan to demolish public housing By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
n “I cannot and do not support the proposed demolition application.”
St. Louis County Executive Sam Page refused to sign off on the Trump Administration’s plan to demolish about 200 public housing structures in Wellston, which would have displaced about 530 people or 174 families — about one-fourth of Wellston’s residents. The news comes after a year of anxiety and worry for Wellston residents, after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced in August 2018 that the housing
– St. Louis County Executive Sam Page
Wellston residents Herman White, Sammy Alford, Anna Thorp and Edward Arch live in Wellston Place Apartments and are part of a community effort to stop the Trump Administration from demolishing about 200 public housing structures in Wellston, which would displace about 530 people or 174 families.
demolition was inevitable, with the backing of then-County Executive Steve Stenger. On July 10, Page sent a strongly-worded letter to James Heard,
See WELLSTON, A7
Photo by Wiley Price
‘The toughest battle was with myself’ Bruce Franks Jr. is leaving St. Louis to heal By Chris King Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price
Keep it cool The heat index was around 100 degrees for Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers’ 2019 Community Resource and Health Fair at its Delmar Boulevard location on Saturday, July 20, so the St. Louis Fire Department opened up a sprinkler to help neighborhood children in attendance cool off.
St. Louis police officer charged with felony assault for pepper-spraying protestors By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American St. Louis Police Officer William Olsten became the first city cop to be charged with unlawfully assaulting civilians during the Jason Stockley protests. He was charged with three counts of assault in the 3rd degree,
a Class D felony, for his use of pepper spray against civilians during a protest on September 29, 2017. Four city officers have been charged with using excessive force when beating and arresting undercover cop Luther Hall during a September 17 protest downtown. However, Olsten is the first to be held accountable for
his actions against everyday citizens, said attorney Javad Khazaeli, who represents six people who were arrested during the September 29 protest that led to Olsten’s charges. “Up until this happened, the only people
See OFFICER, A6
Bruce Franks Jr. may be disappointing many people by leaving St. Louis — to where, he won’t say — but at least he is leaving alive. He almost didn’t make it out alive. He almost killed himself last winter. He had decided where he was going to do it — at home — and how — by shooting himself in the head. He was moving toward finally doing it when a knock came to his door and he decided to answer the door rather than kill himself. Oddly, for a young man getting ready to leave the Missouri Legislature along with this mortal coil, it was a political canvasser at the door. It was a young man knocking doors in support of Clean n “If Missouri, a political reform something package that Missouri voters happens, I had just passed on a statewide ballot initiative that was facing can come attack by the Republicans who back. But I dominate Missouri government. need to be The canvasser recognized able to come the man who answered the door as Oops the battle rapper — back, not and as state Rep. Bruce Franks wake up to Jr. He could not pass up the it each and opportunity to thank Franks for every day.” all of his good work and the positive example he was setting – Bruce for all of the kids on the street Franks Jr. just like he had been. Franks was convinced not to kill himself. He had been sunk down to his lowest depths by two violent deaths. In the past few months, both his best friend, Sylvester Hamilton, and then his godson, Gerrian Green, had been killed in St. Louis. While his godson lay dying, the boy’s mother — Lisa Townsend, now
See FRANKS, A7