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St. Louis American The
Serving, empowering and advocating for equity in St. Louis since 1928
CAC Audited NOVEMBER 24 – 30, 2022
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‘It’s All in the Family’ First Ladies’ Health Equity Symposium addresses importance of cancer screenings
By Sylvester Brown Jr. The St. Louis American
Dr. Lannis Hall poses with many First Ladies during the 2nd Annual First Ladies’ Health Equity Symposium on Nov. 5th at Greater Grace Church in St. Louis County.
For many Christian churches the First Lady serves specific roles. She’s traditionally married to the head pastor; she’s invested in the community and serves as the eyes, ears, and hearts of the Church Family. Holding true to that definition, the 2nd Annual First Ladies’ Health Equity Symposium held on Nov. 5th, was held for the congregation of county residents to become proactive in addressing health disparities. The event, held at Greater Grace Church in St. Louis County was hosted by first ladies of several area churches including Greater Grace Church of Ferguson, New
See FIRST LADIES, A7
Photo courtesy of Dr. Lannis Hall
Vol. 94 No. 35 COMPLIMENTARY
You’ll be ‘Drawn in’ Nine PBS show, comic book designed to increase literacy
By Ashley Winters St. Louis American Nine PBS and Lion Forge Animation (LFA) have brought in the best of the best for the comic book adaptation of the new hit Nine PBS TV show “Drawn In.” Dave Steward II, Oscarwinning creator of “Hair Love” and owner of LFA is a leading Black-owned, full-service animation studio that sources, acquires, develops, and produces authentic diverse content for global distribution. LFA is a self-financed flexible media platform with an established content library. The studio is uniquely equipped to create, drive, and deliver genuine, diverse stories to meet an increasing audience. Steward is joined by local comic book author and illustrator David Gorden, and Ike Reed, of the writing and development team behind the Drawn In comic book. The partnership between the organizations is creating new and innovative ways for a new multi-media initiative designed to positively represent kids of
See DRAWN IN, A6
Photo courtesy of the St. Louis Blues
Zariah Taylor and Sydnee Lovett of Central Visual and Performing Arts High School’s Advanced Vocal class delivered a moving rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner on Monday night before the St. Louis Blues game.
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
‘Turkey bowl’
Aldi’s held a bowling for turkey day Saturday, Nov. 19, 2022 at it ’s Union and Page Blvd. store. Timothy Tomkins, 73, takes a toss at a strike for the turkey day feast.
Hope & Hopelessness
About 60 people gathered outside the St. Louis County Court Building for what was promoted as a “Storytelling Vigil for Kevin Johnson.” Johnson was convicted in the 2005 murder of Kirkwood police Sgt. William McEntee. His execution is scheduled next week on Nov. 29, 2022. On a night that broke from the extremely cold
BUSINESS
Black, Latino home ownership levels have surged
weather of recent days, many who attended the vigil expressed various and differing reasons for their presence. Standing stoically outside the crowd’s parameters, a stocky young man who identified himself simply as “Yancey,” had a hard time containing his outrage. With Adele’s song “Rise Up” playing in the background, Yancy talked about the unfairness of the death penalty. “These are random times…the world is
Donate 25K to its Arts Program St. Louis American staff
cruel,” Yancy said quietly. “You know, everybody makes mistakes and at a young age, he (Johnson) wasn’t in the right frame of mind, you know, because he was dealing with Bam Bam’s death and all.” He referred to Johnson’s then 12-year-old brother, Joseph “Bam Bam” Long. According to court testimony, Johnson said he was enraged when he learned that police-intent on
As the St. Louis Blues prepared for their game against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night, two young ladies from Central Visual and Performing Arts high School stood near a runway to the ice of the Enterprise Center. Clad in CVPA t-shirts, Zariah Taylor and Sydnee Lovett of the CVPA Advanced Vocal class were prepared to deliver a stirring rendition of the StarSpangled Banner. It was amazing. Many fans in the sold-out venue wiped tears from their eyes as they were moved by the duet. St. Louis continues to heal following the Oct. 24, 2022, shootings at CVPA that left teacher Jean Kuczka, 61, and student Alexzandria Bell, 15, dead.
See JOHNSON, A7
See BLUES , A6
Story telling vigil for Kevin Johnson touches hearts By Sylvester Brown Jr. The St. Louis American
St. Louis Blues honor, support CVPA community
HEALTH
Black man’s skeleton opening new avenues
New research findings reveal that between 2019 and 2021, a period that included COVID-19 pandemic assistance programs, homeownership among Black and Latino families increased.
Carlina de la Cova is part of a research team that studied the skeleton of an unknown Black man who died here in the 1930s.
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SPORTS
Area powers have title tilts Saturday
ESL and CBC are returning to the state championship. CBC will play at 4 p.m. against Lee’s Summit North and ESL will face Crystal Lake Prairie Ridge at 1 p.m.
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