Building musical talent Kwame Foundation presents Brianna Elise at the Sheldon
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited MARCH 13 – 19, 2014
Vol. 84 No. 49 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
n “We need everyone’s help to fulfill the mission of this organization.” – Michael P. McMillan, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis
SALute to HeALtH cAre
Nurse, teacher, leader, survivor Sherrill Jackson is 2014 Lifetime Achiever in Health Care By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price
The Revs. Jacqueline and Lou Brock, Carol and Thomas R. Voss (outgoing president of Ameren), Urban League President Michael McMillan, ESL Mayor Alvin Parks Jr. and aldermanic President Lewis Reed joined Ambassador Andrew Young as he sliced his birthday cake after the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis’ 96th Annual Dinner Meeting on Monday.
McMillan leads his first UL Annual Dinner Promises ‘community involvement and investment in positive change’ By Bridjes O’Neil Of The St. Louis American Michael P. McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, presided over the organization’s 96th Annual Dinner Meeting on Monday – his
Community kicks off Hudson campaign By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American St. Louis Community College has been drastically losing student enrollment for several years – and longtime community leader and social justice advocate Redditt Hudson believes he can help restore this vital resource. “It’s my intent to ensure that students receive a quality education and ensure that they become part of the workforce,”
first since taking office in August of 2013, succeeding James H. Buford, who led the organization for 28 years. As the Urban League’s flagship affiliate celebrates its 96th anniversary, McMillan is plotting a path toward its centennial. “Longevity has afforded us the opportunity
to establish an unparallel legacy of community involvement and investment in positive change in the region,” he said. He reminded the soldout crowd gathered at the Renaissance St. Louis Grand Hotel in downtown St. Louis that challenging
n Over the last seven months, McMillan said, the Urban League has increased its membership from 37 to 537.
A pediatric nurse since the 1970s, Sherrill Jackson always thought she was well informed about breast cancer. But she never thought she would be diagnosed with the disease herself in 1992, when she was 46. “It was the furthest thing from my mind,” said Jackson, RN, MHSA, CPNP, who is a pediatric nurse and manager of the School Based Program at Betty Jean Kerr People’s Health Centers. “I had no family history. Sherrill Although I work in the Jackson medical field, I was just as afraid and nervous as anyone else.” She survived breast cancer with the strong support of her family and friends, she said. And 16 years ago, she founded an organization called The Breakfast Club, Inc. to provide other women with a support system as well as educate them about the disease. Since its inception, The Breakfast Club has provided educational information about breast health to more than 12,000 people and support services to more than 500 breast cancer survivors. The nonprofit has distributed more than 1,500 bras and more than 700 breast prostheses to women who could not afford them. Through its Faith On the Move program, the organization has
See McMILLAN, A6
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Sweetie Pie’s at the public library Miss Robbie Montgomery kicks off ‘Food for Thought’ By Bridjes O’Neil Of The St. Louis American
Miss Robbie Montgomery, star of “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s,” with Jonice Langford and Asia Edwards, both students at Clyde C. Miller Career Academy.
Miss Robbie Montgomery, star of the Oprah Winfrey Network hit “Welcome to Sweetie Pie’s,” kicked off St. Louis Public Library’s Food for Thought: A Month of Culinary Events. Montgomery first met with culinary students from Clyde C. Miller Career Academy and Beaumont High School on Thursday, March 6 at Central Library, 1301 Olive St. Montgomery said she was delighted to see so many students in chef’s jackets and asked how many aspired to open their own restaurants. Most of the
See SWEETIE, A7
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n “I made this at the restaurant, and we enjoyed it.” – Miss Robbie Montgomery told Jonice Langford, of Clyde C. Miller, about her family recipe