Battle to protect Medicaid intensifies
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Freeman Bosley, Sr., political patriarch, passes By Sylvester Brown, Jr. St. Louis American Freeman Bosley, Jr. recalled the dramatic demographic shift in the neighborhood and streets, Grand and Palm Ave., where he was raised. His parents, Freeman R. Bosley Sr. and his wife, Marjorie Ellen Robertson Bosley, bought a house there in 1964. Bosley Sr., one of the city’s longest-serving aldermen and father of the city’s first Black mayor, passed away at the age of 90 on May 16, 2025. He was born in 1934, in St. Louis, one of eight children of Alma J. Bosley and Preston T. Bosley, a chief railway mail clerk for the Missouri Pacific Railroad. Reflecting on his father’s legacy took the son back to the neighborhood where he planted political roots that spread throughout the family and is still bearing fruit today. They moved on to Palm and Grand about 15 years after the 1949 race riot at the nearby Fairgrounds Park’s newly integrated public swim-
See BOSLEY, A6
Vol. 97 No. 7 COMPLIMENTARY
Commentary
What comes next, St. Louis? By Mike Jones
Photo courtesy of Freeman Bosley, Jr.
Former Mayor Freeman Bosley, Jr. at his 70th birthday party with his father, Freeman Bosley, Sr., who recently passed away.
The City of St Louis experienced a life altering weather event May 16, 2025, when a tornado took five lives and wreaked havoc over Clayton, the CWE, north St. Louis and Metro East. Alderwoman Laura Keyes was not being hyperbolic when she described it as “our Katrina.” In this moment of shock, angst and uncertainty the question at the core this crisis, is: What do we do next? The answer can only be provided by Mayor Cara Spencer, Board of Alderman President Megan Green and Comptroller (who comprise the Board of Estimate & Apportionment,) and the 14 alderpersons. Mike Jones These are the 18 people chosen by the people of St. Louis to speak for them and to exercise their best judgement on the peoples’ behalf. It’s a duty they can’t avoid and a responsibility they can’t transfer. But this isn’t something they can do alone; this will require the cooperation and support of the entire St. Louis community. More to the point the mayor, with the support of the Board of Aldermen, is the only person in position to provide the leadership to organize the long-term civic and governmental effort that will be required to see
See JONES, A7
Stefan Bradley says STL must ‘Get it’
Photo by Lawrence Bryant
A resident of Cates Avenue is seated after he was hit with debris from the tornado that tore his home apart in St. Louis on Friday, May 16.
‘So much devastation’ F3 tornado leaves five dead, $1.6B in damage North side battered By Kenya Vaughn, Ashley Winters, Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American Like the statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in Fountain Park, St. Louis was knocked asunder by a May 16, 2025, tornado that ripped through parts of the St. Louis county, city and Metro East.
North St. Louis felt the worst brunt of the historic storm, yet like the Dr. King statue, the only one in Missouri, it will rise from the destruction. The deadly tornado claimed five lives, according to Police Chief Robert Tracy. The storm injured at least 39 people and caused an estimated $1.6 billion in damage. An estimated 5,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed including homes, businesses, and
BUSINESS
See TORNADO, A6
Inside
A3 – Here’s how you can help A12 – Health organizations lend helping hands A8-9 – Photos of historic tornado damage B1 – Urban League, United Way spring into action C1 – Annie Malone Parade postponed
By Ashley Winters The St. Louis American Prize winning author Stefan Bradley examines the Ferguson uprising in his new book, “If We Don’t Get It: A People’s History of Ferguson.” He shared his thoughts at Left Bank Books in the Central West End on Tuesday night. Jamala Rogers and Jonathan Pulphus, who organized, marched, and protested with Bradley during the Ferguson Uprising, joined him for the book reading and community conversation just blocks from some severe tornado damage. Bradley’s book tells a story of renewed activism, the story of the young people who bravely turned a local issue into a national movement for justice. He was a young professor at Saint Louis University when Michael Brown was shot and killed
See BRADLEY, A7 SPORTS
Urban League establishes Humanitarian Fund
Track and field stars target state meet berths
Within hours of the fatal tornados destructive path, the Urban League was serving shocked St. Louisans in need of shelter, food and help clearing trees and debris.
The baton was passed to larger schools at last weekend’s district track and field meets around the area. Earl Austin Jr. profiles the top girls and boys.
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