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St. Louis American Section D
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CAC Audited JANUARY 16 – 22, 2025
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Larry Thomas remains driving force in community 2025 Salute to Business
This year’s Lifetime Achiever
See THOMAS, A6
COMPLIMENTARY
St. Louis has roots burned in L.A. fires Historic Altadena neighborhood scorched
By Sylvester Brown, Jr. St. Louis American Larry Thomas has paid his dues. He retired in 2021 after working almost 50 years with Edward Jones and becoming one of its first minority partners. He began as an intern in 1977 and was immediately hired after he graduated from Washington University. He then rose through the ranks with multiple promotions. Thomas is widely respected both for his pioneering work at Edward Jones, his philanthropy and multiple roles as board member or board chair with civic institutions including the United Way’s Charmaine Chapman Society, Washington University’s “Make Way” initiative, the St. Louis Zoo, Forest Park Forever and Provident Behavioral
Vol. 96 No. 41
By Namratha Prasad St. Louis American
Photo courtesy of Forest Park forever
Larry Thomas is widely respected both for his pioneering work at Edward Jones and continued service as board member or chair with civic institutions including Forest Park Forever, the United Way’s Charmaine Chapman Society, Washington University’s “Make Way” initiative, and the St. Louis Zoo.
After her cousin’s house burned down in the flames engulfing Los Angeles, Latandra Landrum knew she had to help somehow - even from hundreds of miles away in St. Louis. She set up a GoFundMe with a goal of raising $50,000, and the fund had reached over $56,000 by Wednesday. A new goal of $100,000 has been established. Brian Perry, his wife Kwynn and their teen son, Ellison, were faced with evacuation twice, They had grabbed as many belongings as they could and went to a friend’s home before their entire historic neighborhood in Altadena, California, was wiped out. The family they were staying with was later told to evacuate, as well. “When he told us they lost everything, as a family, we always come together,” Landrum said. “But I knew we had to do something beyond our scope.” Brian Perry was born and raised in
See FIRES, A7
Crime continues to decline in city Homicides at 11-year low
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
The Rev. Traci Blackmon, CEO and founder of HopeBuilds, LLC., said, “weariness is a luxury we cannot afford” during her MLK Celebration keynote address.
What would MLK say today? The Rev. Traci Blackmon has an answer
By Sylvester Brown, Jr. St. Louis American Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated almost 60 years ago, and it’s nearly impossible to predict what he would say or how he would feel about the country’s social and political environment today. However, the Rev. Traci Blackmon,
CEO and founder of HopeBuilds, LLC., delivered her own insightful and inspirational account of King’s possible reflections on modern times during the keynote address of the 39th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Statewide Celebration on January 11, 2025, at Harris-Stowe State University. As audacious conservatives try to portray King as someone who would
have opposed affirmative action, quotas, reparations or any other policy related to diversity, equity or inclusion, Blackmon said: “To revise and reshape his legacy, our nation has deprived Dr. King of his true dream of radical social vision, love and prophetic insight at a time when our world
See BLACKMON, A7
By Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American When Mayor Tishaura Jones was sworn in at City Hall in April 2021, she said she was dedicated to reducing crime, especially the murder rate, in the city of St. Louis. When St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Tracy was hired as police chief in 2022, he stood with the mayor and said his main goal was to reduce the city’s level of crime annually. When Gabe Gore was appointed as St. Louis circuit attorney in May 2023, and when he ran successfully for the office in 2024, he pledged to continue the fight against crime through his office. The trio came together Tuesday at the Delmar DiVine to announce crime was down in the city in 2024, and that
See CRIME, A6