SLPS magnet school wins WWT Hackathon
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2013, 2014, 2016, 2017 Gold Cup Newspaper Missouri Press Association
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited MARCH 8 – 14, 2018
Vol. 89 No. 50 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
100 years of empowerment
160 potential jurors to be called for Greitens case
Urban League flagship affiliate in St. Louis celebrates centennial
Judge agrees to give media organizations advance notice of proceedings By Jessica Karins For The St. Louis American
By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Michael McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, joined the organization that he now leads on his 16th birthday. This year, the St. Louis Urban League – frequently describes as the nation’s flagship affiliate – celebrates 100 years of empowering the African-American community, now with 30 different programs at 13 locations. McMillan’s personal favorite moment in the Urban League’s history happened just this past July 26, a sweltering summer day where hundreds came out to cheer the ribbon cutting of the Ferguson Community Empowerment Center. It’s a job training center built on the site of the burned-down QuikTrip convenience store, which was destroyed during the unrest following Michael
See URBAN, A6
Photo by Wiley Price
Michael McMillan, president of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, and Marc Morian, the national president, welcomed guests to the ribbon-cutting of the Ferguson Community Empowerment Center on July 26, 2017.
Back in court in the case of the State of Missouri vs. Eric Greitens on March 5, the District 16 circuit judge ruled on several motions, including a decision to call 160 potential jurors in the governor’s highprofile felony case for invasion of privacy. Attorney Mark Sable, on behalf of 10 media organizations, filed a motion to intervene in the case by asking the judge to give media organizations advance notice of hearings or other proceedings in the case. “Any activity is of public Gov. Eric interest in a case of this nature,” Greitens Sable said. Attorneys for both Greitens and the Circuit Attorney’s Office agreed to the idea as long as grand jury proceedings remained under seal. Circuit Judge Rex Burlison said he normally holds informal hearings whenever both parties are available, but he understood the compelling public interest in this case. Burlison decided to establish set availability on
See GREITENS, A6
Photo by Rebecca Rivas
Glenda Lay spoke about “urban gun violence” at the Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America meeting on March 1 in Webster Groves, which between 1,000 and 1,500 people attended.
Photo by Wiley Price
Learning to love chess Derielle Williams, 6, a first-grader at Peabody Elementary School stays focused during the 2018 SLPS Inaugual Scholastic Chess Tournament at the Moto Museum Wednesday, February 21, 2018. The event is part of the district’s ‘Love of Learning’ initiative.
County police ‘wanteds’ system faces court challenge The first oral arguments in a case against St. Louis County’s system of “wanteds” took place on February 28, and the constitutional challenge by ArchCity Defenders and the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) will proceed to the next step.
The system of “wanteds,” also known as “wanteds for questioning,” in St. Louis County allows police officers to enter information about an individual they want to question in relation to a crime into a database. This can be seen by all other county police officers, who can then arrest the wanted individual, hold them for 24 hours and question them – without obtaining a
Advocates demand reform of gun laws; Mo. House committee passes ‘guns everywhere’ bill By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American
ArchCity Defenders claims procedure of warrantless arrests is unconstitutional By Jessica Karins For The St. Louis American
‘We’re not going to back down’
warrant from a judge. ArchCity and the CCR, two legal advocacy organizations, are challenging the system as violating several principles of the U.S. Constitution, including the Fourth Amendment right to protection against unreasonable search and seizure, the
See POLICE, A7
Glenda Lay’s 42-year-old sister – a mother of two – was shot and killed while driving down Interstate 70 in September 2015. Her murder remains unsolved. “In the aftermath of that, I was trying to find an organization that would put me in the position to do something about it,” Lay said. “As I look around this room tonight, this is what change looks like to me.” The crowd of between 1,000 to 1,500 people erupted in applause and whistles. Lay was speaking at the March 1 meeting of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a grassroots group
See GUNS, A7