Sweetie Pie’s fires up season two Hit STL reality show returns to OWN on March 31
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Vol. 83 No. 51
CAC Audited MARCH 22 – 28, 2012
COMPLIMENTARY
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NEWS ANALYSIS
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‘Stand your ground’ ‘Dirty against racism
campaign’ against voters
Reflections on the Trayvon Martin case We must support the call for full prosecution of George Zimmermann. And, we must do more.
By Adebowale Walle Amusa For The St. Louis American Racism is a curable disease of the heart. It blinds people to the full humanity of others. It is a net contributor to ignorance and a state of semi-consciousness about the humanity of others. In its individual form it can be simply annoying or deadly. Its institutional form is the deadliest.
JULY 14, 1937 – MARCH 20, 2012
The Trayvon Martin case is an example of this deadly disease. Both the individual and institutional variants are evident and intertwined. George Zimmermann, 28, the killer in this case, could not conceptualize the full humanity of a young, innocent, unarmed black teenager who was walking home after pur-
See MARTIN, A7
Trayvon Martin, 17, was killed Feb. 26
Dancing the spirit
Sharpton, Clay, Cleaver warn of GOP attack on voting rights By Rebecca S. Rivas Of The St. Louis American The basic right to vote is under attack by “James Crow Jr. Esquire,” said the Rev. Al Sharpton, who spoke at Harris-Stowe State University Friday as part of a conference on vot “Today we are ing rights. fighting James When thousands Crow Jr. Esquire. marched from Selma to He’s a little more Montgomery in 1965, polished than his “they were fighting Jim Crow,” Sharpton said. daddy.” “Today we are fighting James Crow Jr. Esquire. – Al Sharpton He’s a little more polished than his daddy. He talks in a more refined way. But the results and the goals are the same.” Sharpton kicked off the “Voting Rights Symposium: Protecting Our Most Fundamental Constitutional Right” event, organized by U.S. Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay, the university, NAACP and the Advancement Project. At the same time Sharpton was riling up the crowd of 200 on Friday, a Missouri judge was
Bishop Ellis says, ‘Amen’ Bishop Willie James Ellis Jr. passes at age 74
See DIRTY, A6
By Chris King Of The St. Louis American His wife of 53 years and his vast prayer circle were not at all surprised when the last word that Bishop Willie James Ellis Jr. uttered before he passed was, “Amen.” Bishop Ellis, retired longtime pastor of the New “He was the kind of minister Northside M.B. Church and civil who believed rights leader, God’s mission passed Tuesday, for him was to March 20, 2012 after a long illwork both ness at the age of sides of the 74. River Jordan.” “All day yesterday, the song – Congressman kept coming to Bill Clay on me – ‘Let the Bishop Ellis Church Say Amen,’” said his widow, First Lady Beverly Elaine Ellis. “So I knew it was okay. Everybody I talked to, that’s what they’re
See ELLIS, A7
500-plus students cross the ‘Bridge’ UMSL program sends 100 percent of graduates to college By Rebecca S. Rivas Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price
Kali Royka, assistant choreographer for Afriky Lolo, performed with the troupe Friday night at the Regional Arts Commission in “The Spirit Speaks,” a benefit concert to fund the dance company’s participation in DanceAfrica 2012. For more photos of the performance, visit stlamerican.com.
Rashad Moungo, 18, a senior at Parkway North High School, recently got a glimpse into his future. On March 10, Alderwoman Kacie Starr Triplett gave the keynote speech at his graduation ceremony from the Bridge Program, a college preparatory program for high school students sponsored by University of Missouri – St. Louis. What struck him was Triplett’s analogy of success with the game of basketball. “When you get the basketball, that’s you getting the ‘rock,’” he remembered her saying. “You have to make a play. You have to make a move. You have a scholarship opportunity; you have your life ahead of you. What are you going to do? To be
See BRIDGE, A6