Gold medal man Cleveland Naval Jr. ROTC’s Mike Wells wins the Missouri Class 2 State 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes
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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited MAY 29 – JUNE 4, 2014
stlamerican.com
ApriL 4, 1928 – mAy 28, 2014
n “She will always be the rainbow in my clouds.”
Maya rises
– Oprah Winfrey
Maya Angelou ‘ascends’ at age 86 By Kenya Vaughn and Chris King Of The St. Louis American
Maya Angelou was presented with the Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the White House in Washington, D.C. on February 15, 2011.
“Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God.” These were the last words Maya Angelou shared with this world, via Twitter, on May 23. She passed away Wednesday, May 28, 2014 at her home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the age of 86.
Vol. 85 No. 8 COMPLIMENTARY
“Her family is extremely grateful that her ascension was not belabored by a loss of acuity or comprehension,” her only child, Clyde “Guy” Johnson, said in a statement. “She lived a life as a teacher, activist, artist and human being. She was a warrior for equality, tolerance and peace.” Angelou, a St. Louis native, recently canceled a series of public appearances due to “an unexpected
n “She evolved into a global voice, springing from a wellspring of black experience.” – Shirley Bradley LeFlore
See ANGELOU, A7
INSIDE
mArch 18, 1948 – mAy 24, 2014
Bertha Gilkey passes
NEWS
The message of ‘Brown vs. Board of Education’ Sixty years later, we are still fighting for access to affordable early childhood education and higher education.
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BUSINESS
Community organizer helped transform public housing in St. Louis, nation
Steve’s Hot Dogs set to expand Steve Ewing, frontman for the local band The Urge, is raising funds to open a second location in Tower Grove East
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SPORTS
By Chris King Of The St. Louis American
Cards fans say farewell to Yankees’ Musial It was likely the final opportunity to see one of the last great clean players of the game of baseball when Derek Jeter and the New York Yankees came to town.
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Photo by Wiley Price
More than 139,000 memories Jordan Jones, 10, a student at Russell Elementary School, helped the St. Louis Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America place American flags on more than 139,000 headstones at Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery on Sunday, sponsored by the council’s Gravois Trail District. This was the local Boy Scouts’ 61st annual Memorial Day observance at the cemetery.
Bertha Knox Gilkey, a community organizer who played a key role in the improvement of public housing in St. Louis and around the nation, died Saturday, May 24, 2014, while she was in the process of receiving cancer treatment, according to her daughter, Yvette Gilkey Shuford. She was 66. Gilkey had moved from St. Louis to be with her daughter and family in Prattville, Alabama, six weeks ago, said Shuford, who declined to specify where her mother passed away. “Mom was a strong advocate for the community Bertha for many years,” said Shuford, Gilkey Gilkey’s only surviving child. “I gave up my mom for the people in St. Louis and anywhere she was needed to go fight.” A wake will be held 5-8 p.m. Friday, May 30 at Central Baptist Church, 2842 Washington Ave. Funeral services will be held 9:30 a.m. Saturday, May 31, also at Central Baptist, followed by a repast at Carr Square, 1629 Biddle St. “She was an outspoken advocate for her community who played a central role in making St. Louis a national model for making public housing livable for families,” Kit Bond, former Missouri governor and U.S. senator, told The American. “Bertha was passionate about improving the
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