Remembering Paul Reiter Longtime American reporter Ishmael-Lateef Ahmad writes an open letter to a former colleague we lost too soon.
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Vol. 83 No. 7
CAC Audited MAY 19 – 25, 2011
COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Farewell to a Good Samaritan Family and community remember Paul Reiter in moving ceremony By Chris King Of The St. Louis American Paul Reiter’s family and friends said farewell to him Saturday morning in an elegant Memorial Service conducted at Carmel of St. Joseph Carmelite Monastery. Religious services, conducted by Patrick Quinn, SJ, were framed by Honor Guard ceremonies due to Reiter as a veteran of the U.S. Navy. Gospel readings were selected by resident
“When you suffer the loss of a brother to violence and death, do you lose hope? Or do you hope all the more?”
Father Quinn deeply touched the sentiments of an overflowing group of mourners when he delivered the parable of the Good Samaritan (told by Luke). As was widely reported in local media in the days before the Memorial Service, Reiter lived and died a Good Samaritan. He was shot dead the morning of May 9, 2011, according to St. Louis police, while interrupting the backdoor burglary of a neighbor on Idaho Avenue
– Father Patrick Quinn
nuns, including Reiter’s sister, Sister Paula Marie. After readings from Isaiah and Luke,
See REITER, page A7
Photo by Wiley Price
Mark Reiter and and Agnes Veronica Reiter, brother and mother of Paul Reiter.
10 years of freedom defined
Wave that flag Walbridge Elementary School fourth grader DeMarion Worthy, age 9, waved the American flag as his school participated in Sunday’s rainy Annie Malone Day Parade.
Meaning of Mary Meachum Crossing relived this Saturday By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American Thanks to a brave free black woman and nine slaves, St. Louis has special significance as a stop on the legendary Underground Railroad located in a former slave state. On Saturday, residents can rewind the hands of “Even after African time nearly 160 years to Americans were free, gain first-hand understandthey were still not truly ing of a mode of transportation stretching across the free.” nation that had one destination – freedom. – Doug Eller, Grace Hill “Every year, we do a difSettlement House ferent reenactment,” said Doug Eller of the Grace Hill Settlement House – one of the organizers of the event that for the past 10 years has created a live connection with history. “The first few years were just about Mary Meachum. But we eventually started doing other aspects of history from around that time. This year we will be doing the Civil War and what it meant for African Americans.” Most carry the assumption that with the war came automatic freedom for slaves. Nothing could be further from the See MEACHUM, page A6 Photo by Wiley Price
Son of St. Louis new Georgia Tech dean
St. Louis native Gary S. May is the first AfricanAmerican dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering.
Gary S. May wants to make College of Engineering 1st in diversity By Rebecca S. Rivas Of The St. Louis American Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta is the nation’s leading producer of AfricanAmerican and women engineers. On July 1, St. Louis native Gary S. May, PhD, professor and current chair of electrical and computer engineering at the university, will become the first African-American dean of Georgia Tech’s College of Engineering. As dean, May will direct the nation’s largest engineering program, one that enrolls nearly 60
“In the interest of being the best, I want us to be the most diverse.” – Gary S. May
percent of Georgia Tech’s student body. It was also the place where an 18-year-old May arrived from St. Louis to obtain his bachelor’s in electrical engineering. “For past seven years, Georgia Tech has
been the fourth-best engineering school in the country,” May said. “My platform has been that we should get on the metal stand. In the interest of being the best, I want us to be the most diverse.” Gordon Moore Jr., director of the Office of Minority Educational Development at Georgia Tech, was one of May’s close friends in their undergraduate years. Working closely with May for so long, Moore said, his appointment is not only well deserved, it is historic. See MAY, page A7 Photo courtesy of Georgia Tech
SPORTS
BUSINESS
HIP-HOP
Blue Devils seek third straight title
Black accountants offer free residency
‘These children want change’
Maplewood Richmond-Heights fields athletes in six individual events and all three sprint relays.
Week-long, all-expense-paid Accounting Career Awareness Program accepting applicants through May 31.
Dynasty Hip-Hop Inc. Mentoring Program asks youth to pledge nonviolence and accept responsibility.
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