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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited MARCH 21 – 27, 2019
Vol. 90 No. 52 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Pelosi, Clay stump for voting rights
2019 Lifetime Achiever in heALth cAre
Zenobia Thompson is dedicated to service, activism By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price
Michael McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis and Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D. MO) listen as U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) talks about the importance of voting rights at the Ferguson Community Empowerment Center on Monday, March 18.
In 1977, Zenobia Thompson was doing exactly what she loved to do – providing care to her community as a head nurse at Homer G. Phillips Hospital. That year, she had just returned to work at her alma mater, after spending 10 years at Barnes Hospital in labor and delivery. Yet she soon learned that the threats of St. Louis city leaders closing the iconic black teaching hospital was creating a cloud over the dedicated staff. From 1937 until 1955, Homer G. Phillips was the only hospital for African Zenobia Americans in St. Louis. It Thompson continued to serve largely the African-American community after desegregation, and it was the first teaching hospital west of the Mississippi River for black students. By 1961, Homer G. Phillips had trained the largest number of black doctors and nurses in the world. One day, Thompson’s colleague asked her to come to a meeting for those involved in the fight to keep the hospital open. Thompson told her
See THOMPSON, A7
The country’s top elected Democrat visited Ferguson to help promote the party’s mission By Rachel Lippmann Of St. Louis Public Radio The country’s top elected Democrat came to Ferguson Monday to push the party’s efforts to expand voting rights across the country.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, are among hundreds of co-sponsors of two bills: one that sets new requirements for when states must get federal approval to change their voting or election laws, and another that reduces the amount of money in campaigns, including
eliminating so-called “dark money” from unidentified donors. Pelosi praised Clay for putting his name on the legislation quickly. She called it an important part of the party’s “For the People”
See PELOSI, A6
‘I refuse to kiss the ring of the good ole boy system’ By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Baptist ministers prayed over Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner on March 19 at two North St. Louis city churches, while hundreds of congregation members extended their hands. “Kim, I’m glad the ministers prayed for us because we’re getting ready to go to battle,” said Adolphus Pruitt, president of the St. Louis City NAACP. “Kim is not going to sit on the back of the judicial bus any longer.” St. Louis NAACP leaders and black ministers believe
See GARDNER, A7
Photo by Wiley Price
Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner receives prayers for “moral encouragement” from (left) Rev. E. G. Shields Jr. of Mount Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Carl S. Smith Sr. of New Beginnings Missionary Baptist Church (center), and Rev. Sammie Jones of Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church – along with several other Baptist ministers – on Tuesday, March 19.
County stalls America’s Center expansion By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American The plan for a $175-million expansion for the America’s Center Convention Center in downtown St. Louis has stalled – after NAACP leaders raised concerns about employing minorities and county residents on the construction site. Councilwoman Hazel Erby tabled her bill (#73) on Tuesday night that would authorize the county to continue contributing $6 million annually in bond payments over 40 years, using funds from a 3.5 percent hotel tax passed in 1990. The City of St. Louis and the county currently pay a combined $12 million annually on the debt used to construct The Dome, that’s connected to the convention center – and the state matches it with $12 million. However, those commitments expire in 2021, and the expansion can only move forward if both the city and county agree to continue making those
See CENTER, A6