Extensive photo coverage from the 35th Education Salute gala
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St. Louis American See pages B1 – B4
The
CAC Audited OCTOBER 13 – 19, 2022
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Sheltering those in need Unhoused STL has no ceiling on its help
By Ashley Winters The St. Louis American Unhoused STL is paying it forward in its reach into St. Louis’ most vulnerable community. Founder and CEO Ramona Curtis, a former local reporter, has used her gift as a storyteller to bring awareness to the plight of the unhoused through her social media platforms. “If we are going to do better at accepting unhoused people we need to start thinking of them as human beings,” said Curtis. Curtis wants to humanize the very people we pass every day, the people we see at the
intersection. She believes they have a story that is worth sharing. According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness there were 6,527 homeless individuals on a given night in Missouri in 2020. The report also shows Ramona that between 2019 and Curtis 2020 the state’s unsheltered population increased by 69%. More specifically unhoused families increased by 5%, and youth homelessness
increased by 26%. The report shows that in St. Louis County there are 479 unhoused individuals on a given night in 2020. The numbers are even more alarming for St. Louis City, when there were 1,260 unhoused individuals on a given night in 2020. Before Curtis founded Unhoused STL, a non-profit organization, she began connecting with the unhoused by sitting and talking with them, getting to know them on a personal level. She began to tell their stories on her social media platforms titled Homeless of St. Louis inspired by the national storytelling
See UNHOUSED, A7
Vol. 94 No. 29 COMPLIMENTARY
Reparations ‘Teach In’ set for Oct. 15 ‘A pathway to community healing’
By Alvin A. Reid The St. Louis American With the national reparations movement gaining momentum, Central Baptist Church near downtown St. Louis will host a Reparations Black Party and Teach In at 11 a.m. Saturday October 15, 2022. According to the organizers, the event seeks to “deepen community understanding about reparations and amplify the growing call for a reparations commission.” It will feature an interactive teach-in about reparations, specifically in St. Louis city, and a conversation between organizers, community members, and Michelle Mayor Tishaura Jones Higgins “United States history is wrought with exploitation and outright robbery of Black and Brown peoples, and St. Louis is no exception. Reparations is on the pathway to community healing and it’s a step toward racial justice through economic security,” said Michelle Higgins, director of Faith for Justice.
See REPARATIONS, A6
Photo by Sarah Fentem / St. Louis Public Radio
Photo by Wiley Price / St. Louis American
Saturday morning workout
Melonie Montgomery instructs an early Saturday morning workout class before the start of the Support JADASA Walk/Run Against Domestic Violence at Bellefontaine Park.
The Execution of Kevin Johnson A Murder in Meacham Park
By Sylvester Brown Jr. The St. Louis American “If I could speak to the McEntee Family, his wife, his kids, I would tell them that I’m sorry. If I could erase that day, I would.” Those were the opening words in the “Kevin Johnson Clemency” video posted on the Missourians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty’s [MADPMO] website. Included in the 35-minute film is Johnson’s recollection about July 5, 2005- the day he, at the age of 19, murdered Kirkwood Police Sgt. William McEntee. According to news reports, Johnson ambushed McEntee who was on patrol in the Meacham Park neighborhood. Reportedly, Johnson approached the passenger side of
HEALTH
Local women share their heart disease experiences
n “If I could speak to the McEntee Family, his wife, his kids, I would tell them that I’m sorry. If I could erase that day, I would.” – Convicted Killer Kevin Johnson
McEntee’s patrol car, fired several shots, then fired two more as McEntee crawled out of his cruiser. In all, McEntee was hit seven times. On Tuesday Nov. 29, 2022 Johnson is scheduled to be put to death at the state prison in Bonne Terre. The Missouri Supreme Court announced in August that it had issued a war-
rant for his execution. Individuals and advocates such as MADPMO hope to win clemency for Johnson. They claim that he was sentenced to death because of a racially biased prosecution bent on convicting a Black man for killing a white cop. Johnson had two murder trials, the first ended with a hung jury. The jury by a margin of 10-2, argued for a lesser, non-capital, charge. In the second trial, MADPMO asserts that “the deck was stacked” against Johnson from the outset. They contend that then Prosecutor Robert McCulloch, whose police officer father was gunned down by a Black man in 1964,
DRAWN IN
Look inside to be ‘Drawn In’
Like many Blacks, heart disease impacted the families of two local Black women who are now working to reduce its frequency in minority communities.
Look for the special insert of ‘Drawn In’, a new comic book series from Nine PBS and Lion Forge Animation. Share it with the kids in your life! Look for a new issue each month. Watch for our new animated series and more debuting on Nine PBS (9.1) and on drawnin.org
Page A12
See INSERT
See JOHNSON, A6
St. Louis Health Director D. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis on Wednesday announced the new St. Louis Behavioral Health Bureau. More than 12 additional staff members will address the city’s growing mental health needs, and guide people to drug addiction treatment.
Health Dept. increasing effort to address mental health needs Also targeting drug addiction
By Sarah Fentem St. Louis Public Radio The St. Louis Department of Health will soon hire more than a dozen workers to staff a new behavioral health agency designed to address the city’s growing mental health needs. The Behavioral Health Bureau will help improve awareness of and access to mental health and drug addiction treatment, St. Louis Health Director Dr. Mati Hlatshwayo Davis said. “Today we begin transitioning from talking about mental health and substance abuse concerns to making a major equitable, data-driven approach to addressing those concerns,” she Davis said. The bureau will focus on many mental health
See MENTAL HEALTH, A7
SPORTS
Battle of unbeatens tops late season tussles
After seven weeks, only four teams remain with undefeated records: Cardinal Ritter, Francis Howell, Hillsboro, and Union stand with 7-0 records.
Page B7