A life well-planned
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St. LouiS AmericAn Serving, empowering and advocating for equity in St. Louis since 1928
CAC Audited NOV. 30 – DEC. 6, 2023
Vol. 95 No. 35 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Challenges, opportunities for Black real estate agents, home buyers
AMICSTL a major investment in city’s north side ‘A remarkable milestone’
St. Louis Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, speaking at the ground breaking Tuesday, Nov. 28, said the AMICSTL will help bolster the north side’s economy. The 150,000-square-foot building is to be built on a vacant lot in the 4400 block of Finney Avenue, near Ranken Technical College in the city’s Lewis Place neighborhood.
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American Mayor Tishaura O. Jones announced on Tuesday the city will partner with the St. Louis Advanced Manufacturing Innovation [AMICSTL] center with $15 million in New Markets Tax Credits Jones, who has made economic progress on the city’s northside a pillar of her first administration, was speaking at the groundbreaking of AMICSTL, which will be located within the 400-acre triangle between Ranken Technical College, Cortex, and the National Geospatial Agency. It will serve as a hub of research, innovation, and start-ups, and is part of the St.
See JONES, A6
By Sylvester Brown Jr. St. Louis American Nearly 55 years after the Fair Housing Act was signed into law-which was designed to address discrimination in selling, financing, or renting of any homeBlack homeownership still lags behind white homeownership — by a lot. These were the findings released in March by the National Association of Real Estate Brokers’ (NAREB) in its annual “State of Housing in Black America” (SHIBA) report. Amjad According to the report, Abdallah just 45.3% of Black households owned their own homes in 2022 compared to 74.6% of white households. Writing in the report’s introduction, NAREB President, Lydia Pope, offered some historical insight on today’s dwindling numbers. “The year 2004 marked the highest rate of Black homeownership: just under 50%. But when the housing market collapsed in 2008, Black people were affected disproportionately by predatory lending,” Pope wrote, adding: “And 15 years on, that home owning demographic has not fully recovered.”
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
See REAL ESTATE, A7
Comptroller Green defends her office’s performance
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
School of fish Bryan Hill Elementary School kindergartners Sean Morgan (5) and Hay’dyn Bellamy (6), learn about fish species that live in the ocean with teacher La Tosha Morrow Wednesday morning Nov. 29, 2023.
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American
Creating teachers for underserved schools A SLU pilot program St. Louis American Underserved communities in the St. Louis and Kansas City areas are faced with a critical shortage of teachers. To help meet the challenge, the St. Louis University School of Education has received a $5.96 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to address teacher shortages in these communities. Beginning in summer 2024, a SLU pilot program
HEALTH
will enroll up to 80 professionals with associate degrees who are already working in school settings in a two-year program, where they will receive a full teaching degree upon completion. “Our intention is to provide a teaching certification program for those who are already in schools,” said Molly Schaller, Ph.D., School of Education associate dean. “The landscape has changed a lot in teacher education. There’s a struggle to have licensed teachers in schools and there’s a struggle for paraprofessionals to earn a living wage. This program supports those professionals already working
St. Louis Comptroller Darlene Green is more than ready to “take responsibility for the mistakes my office makes,” however she calls recent media criticism “a slap in the face to all the people who have worked so hard all these months.” In March 2023, the city implemented a new accounting system, according to Green, and it was Darlene not ready to deliver. The Green result included payroll and bill payment problems - and late nights by resolute employees ensuring that the issues were managed. “It was the worst implementation we could have had,” said Green. “There was never real-time parallel
See TEACHERS, A7
See GREEN, A6 SPORTS
Black women share their cancer survivor stories
Trio of area teams seek state titles in Columbia
Black people are at an increased risk of death from different forms of cancer. But this isn’t a story about the tragedy of cancer. This is a story about the survivorship that so many experience.
CBC is seeking its third consecutive state championship in Class 6, and Cardinal Ritter continues its quest for a second-straight title. Hillsboro is making its first ever Show-Me Bowl appearance.
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