Bush says Congress should mandate ‘Medicare for All’
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CAC Audited MAR. 31 – APR. 6, 2022
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Cori Bush ready for Steve Roberts’ challenge ‘Such men do not belong in public service’
By Sarah Kellogg St. Louis Public Radio Democratic state Sen. Steve Roberts, D-St. Louis, is challenging Congresswoman Cori Bush, D-St. Louis County, to represent Missouri’s 1st Congressional District. Roberts submitted his paperwork on Monday, the second-to-last day of candidate filing to run for the seat. Roberts said he didn’t intend to run for Steve Congress when he was initially elected to serve in Roberts the Missouri Senate, but Bush’s actions changed that. “It’s become pretty apparent to me that Congresswoman Cori Bush is not interested in serving as a U.S. Representative,” Roberts said. He added: “She made a comment that she wanted to defund the Pentagon. The NGA (National Geospatial Intelligence Agency) is a
Cori Bush
multimillion-dollar project that’s in my Senate seat, in the 1st Congressional [District], those folks don’t have a voice.” In a statement after Roberts’ announcement, Bush’s office said the people of St. Louis have a clear choice in the election. “Their Congresswoman who loves them and delivered hundreds of millions of dollars to St. Louis, and a host of ego-driven men who seem to think all that Black women leaders do is never good enough,” the written statement said. Anita Manion, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, said seeing a more establishment candidate isn’t
that surprising. “Representative Bush has made some choices on votes that hav-
See BUSH, A6
Salute to Health
Seven excellent awardees
Salute to Excellence in Health Care in person on April 14 By Raven Whitener The St. Louis American The St. Louis American Foundation will honor seven outstanding health professionals from a wide range of organizations, including federally qualified area medical centers, dentistry, and university medical centers in person, at the 2022 Salute to Excellence in Health Care Luncheon on Thursday, April 14, at the Frontenac Hilton.
Dr. Michelle Grimes is a doctoral-prepared board-certified family nurse practitioner and chief nursing officer at CareSTL Health Care in St. Louis. Dr. Grimes has more than 40 years of experience as a nurse in various clinical areas. Her clin-
See SALUTE, A7
Ida B. Wells relative on hand
Shock waves from Smith’s slap reverberate
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire
See BILL, A6
COMPLIMENTARY
Ketra Collins is a registered nurse at Gateway Regional Medical Center while also serving as the coordinator of Shalom Church City of Peace Health Fair and Health Ministry. She says she feels “incredibly blessed to be able to provide free health care screenings and services to my church and the community at large.” Since the COVID-19 pandemic, her coordination has aided in providing COVID-19 testing, education and vaccination clinics routinely at the church. Collins has worked as an RN for 40 years and was the first African-American nurse on the Labor & Delivery/ Obstetrics/Newborn Nursery Unit; she has worked the last two years on the Surgical Services Unit. Collins received her ADN from Lewis and Clark Community College in 1980 and her BSN degree from Chamberlain University in 2013.
VP Harris praises Black Press at Emmett Till Act signing With Michelle Duster, the great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells, by her side, Vice President Kamala Harris went off-script to praise the Black Press during the bill signing ceremony for the Emmett Till Antilynching law. “Ida B. Wells,” Harris said, interrupting her prepared remarks midway through her speech. “The courageous nature of that incredible American who used her skill, her profession, her calling, as a journalist to help open the eyes of our nation to the terror of lynching which speaks to the role – going off script – and the importance of the Black Press and making sure that we have storytellers in our community, who will tell the story when no one else is willing to tell it.” Named after Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American savagely murdered by a group of white men in Mississippi in 1955, the legislation received pushback from three Republicans – Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, and Chip Roy of Texas. Each was the lone vote against the bill. Emmett Till’s murder sparked the civil rights movement, leading to bills like the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and other social justice laws. And while the story of Emmett Till is widely known, Harris noted other incidents of lynching throughout American history. “So those heroes who petitioned presidents to pass anti-lynching legislation, after the murder of Mary Turner in 1918, Emmett Till in 1955, James Byrd Jr. in 1998, and James Craig in 2011, and it failed again and again and again,” Harris remarked. “Anti-lynching legislation was reintroduced in the
Vol. 94 No. 1
Actor could face consequences following Academy ‘formal review’
By Karen Robinson-Jacobs The St. Louis American
Tribute to Windom
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Korra Watt, 8, and Keira Watt Freeman, 11, lead the Better Family Life Kuumba Youth Performance Ensemble into the auditorium for a tribute to well-known poet, writer, and civil rights activist Alice Windom Saturday, Mar. 26. The event took place at the Better Family Life Education and Cultural Center.
Entertainers of all stripes continued to weigh in this week on what should happen next, after rapper, actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock in the face during the worldwide broadcast of the Academy Awards – then apologized via social media – after Rock made a joke about the short haircut of Smith’s wife, actress Jada Pinkett Smith. Smith’s Instagram apology came Monday, the same day The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement it will conduct a formal review of the incident. The slap and the Academy’s initial tepid response – Smith was allowed to remain in his seat and give a speech after winning Best Actor – sparked conversation across the nation about everything from the immune system ailment alopecia to
See SMITH, A6