Principia, East St. Louis bring home state titles
St. Louis American See page B5
The
MARCH 19 – 25, 2026
Serving, empowering and advocating for equity in St. Louis since 1928
stlamerican.com
Vol. 97 No. 49 COMPLIMENTARY
City layoffs on the horizon? Police budget proposal raises fears of service cuts
Police Commissioners to reconsider its proposed budget A proposed increase in the increase and negotiate with city leaders over police fundpolice department’s budget Warning that a proposed increase in the police departcould force layoffs and cuts ing. The full board approved ment’s budget could force to city services. the resolution after a public layoffs and cuts to city serhearing before the Board vices, the St. Louis Board of of Aldermen Public Safety Aldermen last week adopted a Committee, where city offiresolution opposing the spending plan under the cials and residents raised concerns about the city’s city’s return to state control. finances. Resolution 258, introduced by 14th Ward Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, is a nonbinding See Police, A10 measure urging the state-appointed Board of By Sylvester Brown Jr. St. Louis American
Braxton Clemonts of Action St. Louis joins fellow residents inside City Hall.
Photo by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American
The American celebrates 98 years
‘We needed it then and we need it now!’ By Sylvester Brown Jr. St. Louis American
Photo by Lawrence Bryant / St. Louis American
Rufus Shannon stands on his property in the Sherman Academy Park neighborhood as the remains of a collapsed structure and scattered debris show the extent of the damage.
Building stronger connections
Vacant buildings, safety concerns drive new prosector outreach By Ashley Winters St. Louis American Public safety concerns in the Sherman Academy Park neighborhood are often tied to the condition of the area’s vacant buildings, says Rhonda Jones, a former neighborhood association president. Abandoned structures have become gathering places for drug activity and can pose safety risks when they fall into disrepair, she said. She knows firsthand what it’s like to be a property crime victim — her car has been stolen four times. The St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office hopes a new initiative will help address concerns like Jones’ by building stronger connections between prosecutors and neighborhood residents. The effort, called the Circuit Attorney’s Neighborhood Collaboration program, assigns attorneys to neighborhood associ-
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Circuit Attorney Gabe Gore said the program was created to establish a deeper relationship between law enforcement and neighborhoods.
It was almost the end of the Roaring ’20s, not quite a decade before the start of World War II. Streetcars clanged down St. Louis’ cobblestone streets; Mill Creek Valley was still a vibrant hub for Black residents, businesses and culture; and notables like Scott Joplin, Vincent Price, Betty Grable, Josephine Baker and 2-year-old Chuck Berry all had ties to St. Louis. It was March 17, 1928, and The It was March St. Louis American 17, 1928, and newspaper was The St. Louis born. At that time, American there were scores of Black newsnewspaper papers — almost was born. At 250 — published in that time, there the United States, were scores of including several Black newspa- in St. Louis. The pers — almost American, however, outlived almost all 250 — pubits local peers and lished in the eventually became the largest Black United States. weekly newspaper in Missouri. Founded by Judge Nathan B. Young and several prominent African American businessmen, including attorney Homer G. Phillips, The St. Louis American was originally an eight-page, paid-circulation tabloid with a circulation of just over 2,000. In 1929, Nathaniel Sweets became the owner and publisher. Along with his wife, Melba A. Sweets, a former English teacher, and editor Bennie G. Rodgers — known as the “dean of Black journalism” — the newspaper grew steadily from the 1930s through the 1970s. Since its birth, the pages of The American have documented African American triumph and tragedy. It was an anchor of information during the civil rights movement and a must-read publication that shared the voices of residents
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