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St. LouiS AmericAn The
92 years serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis
CAC Audited JUNE 11 – 17, 2020
Vol. 92 No. 12 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
“Being here means a lot for the Black Lives Matter movement, no matter what race you are.” – an Indian woman in the group of organizers
‘They are prosecuting this entire movement’ Feds claim Mike Avery has no ties to STL, yet arrested him at home By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price
Local artist Marty K. Casey spoke out against police brutality at a demonstration in front of St. Louis City Hall on Sunday, June 7.
‘Overwhelming support’ Black Lives Matter grows in scale, diversity as George Floyd protests reach two weeks By Ashley Jones and Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American
n “We demand the defunding and demilitarization of the police.”
The blazing sun and blistering heat did nothing to deter protests organized in the St. Louis region over the past two weeks. Demonstrators have poured into the streets around the region and around the world to express their outrage at the police killing of George Floyd and demands for change.
– a young black woman organizer
Protestors have shouted his name – and that of Breonna Taylor and other victims of
police violence – up and down the less-likely streets of Ladue, Brentwood, Kirkwood and St. Charles, as well as the more-familiar streets of St. Louis, University City and Ferguson. Ferguson’s neighbor Florissant became a new focal point for protest after one of its police officers was captured on video running over a black man with his police See PROTESTS, A6
Jerome Baker, 28, was getting ready to take his six children to Six Flags in May of 2016. He went to borrow a car from a friend and never returned. For about three months, Michael Avery — a volunteer with the grassroots group Bring Them Home Search and Rescue — helped Baker’s mother search for her son. “He went with me when I couldn’t get no other search team to go,” said Maurnice Baker, Jerome’s mother. Since 2015, Avery has been working with the group of about 25 volunteers to help find missing children and people. They have been able to find about 100 individuMichael Avery als. According to a St. Louis Metropolitan Police spokeswoman, the police department only has one detective dedicated to missing persons investigations. “He is taking the time to go out and look for your child, when we don’t even have St. Louis police going out to look for your child,” Baker said of Avery. “What are you going to do when he’s gone?” Baker was among community members and leaders who spoke out against Avery’s recent arrest for allegedly inciting a riot at a press conference on Monday, June 5. Avery is a Ferguson activist who participated in recent demonstrations in both St. Louis and Minneapolis to protest the police killing of George Floyd. On Sunday, May 31, FBI agents arrested Avery at his home in front of his 3-year-old daughter, parents and See AVERY, A6
‘Framing a just recovery’ for the region Deaconess Foundation is 2020 Health Advocacy Organization of the Year By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
Florissant detective assaults man with vehicle, fists Joshua Smith loses job, under criminal investigation, protests ongoing By Chris King Of The St. Louis American At about 11:30 p.m. on June 2, a Florissant police officer driving an unmarked SUV ran into and over an unarmed young black man. The officer then exited his vehicle, pinned down the injured man and struck him twice with his fists. The victim repeated four times, “I don’t have nothing” while the officer cuffed his
hands behind his back. The assault, captured on Ring video that was posted by Real STL news, took less than 30 seconds. The incident occurred in the 9800 block of Eastdell Drive, which is in Dellwood. At first the officer was suspended with pay; the victim reportedly was hospitalized. Florissant Police Chief See FLORISSANT, A7
Photo by Lawrence Bryant
A young protestor followed the lead of Bishop Derrick Robinson and rested on the ground for more than eight minutes at the Florissant Police Department on Sunday, June 7 as the group simulated the fatal arrest of George Floyd.
With record numbers of people out of work in St. Louis due to the pandemic – the St. Louis Fed reports April 2020 unemployment in the St. Louis region at 11.6% compared to 3.3% in April 2019 – the region will be going through an “economic restructuring” for the next few years, said Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, president and CEO of the Deaconess Foundation. “This is going to require an actual revisioning of who we understand ourselves to be as a community,” Wilson said. Rev. Dr. The foundation believes the Starsky health and social impacts of WIlson this process are being underestimated, Wilson said. The funding for economic recovery is largely going to come through the federal government, which means the community will need advocacy organizations to lift up their voices in discussions about the allocation of public resources, he said. This is why the Deaconess Foundation is doubling down on supporting advocacy organizations. “We’re going to be launching in June a cohort See DEACONESS, A7