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Support for virtual school parenting Blake Justice Washington, 5, a first grader at Jana Elementary School in the Hazelwood School District, raised her hand to get the attention of her teacher Miss Moeller while being helped by her mother Gloria Washington on Monday, October 12.
Support Lounge Facebook Group and Like pages with her good friend Rhonda Couch. The group allows parents and teachers to join in discussions on how to adjust to virtual school and provide tips and resources. “I started this group because I realized after talking to other parents that it wasn’t just me stressed about virtual school,” Gloria said.
“Oh, I’m definitely going to the polls.” When asked if he was going to allow the fear of contracting COVID-19 deter him from voting, Steward Stiles III, 29, of Ferguson emphatically answered, “No way!” “Of course, I’ll do the social distancing, I’ll have my hand Andrea sanitizer, mask, and everything Cain else needed to protect myself and others,” Stiles said. “But, yeah, I’m voting.” Stiles, a music teacher at KIPP Victory Academy, fits the demographic of Americans (ages 18 to 29) who responded to a recent Harvard Youth poll indicating that 63% of them will “definitely be voting” next month. The findings indicate that youth turnout is on track to match or exceed the 2008 Steward election, which was a watershed Stiles III year in terms of young voters for Barack Obama. Results of the survey also mirror the “favorability” ratings of 12 years ago. In 2008, 59% of young voters favored Obama. In the Harvard poll, 60% said Joe Biden is their chosen candidate. Stiles is among many young people who insisted COVID-19 will not stop them from voting. All are members or volunteers Jonetta with Young Voices with Action, Robinson Inc., a nonprofit founded by Farrakhan Shegog, 29, to mentor, educate and support young people ages 14 and older.
trict. The transition from traditional classes to online-only has its challenges for Gloria and Blake. The systems don’t always properly work, an internet connection isn’t always there, and Blake, whom Gloria describes as a social butterfly, genuinely misses her fellow classmates. After voicing her frustrations via Facebook to other parents, Gloria decided to create The
See PARENTING, A6
See VOTERS, A7
Wrongful Conviction Project launched in St. Louis Midwest Innocence Project partners with MacArthur Justice Center
By Chris King Of The St. Louis American Two advocates for the wrongly accused in Missouri and throughout the Midwest are joining forces to expand efforts to overturn criminal wrongful convictions. The Midwest Innocence Project (MIP) and the MacArthur Justice Center (MJC) are partners in the new Wrongful Conviction Project, a project of MJC’s Missouri Office with MIP attor-
‘I’m definitely going to the polls’
By Sylvester Brown, Jr. Of The St. Louis American
North County mother goes online to organize group for fellow parents Like many parents, Gloria Washington has come to grips with what many are calling the new normal due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. As of July, Hazelwood School District has operated in a 100% virtual school mode. Washington’s daughter Blake Washington is a first grader at Jana Elementary in the dis-
COMPLIMENTARY
COVID provides incentive rather than deterrence to young Black voters
Photo by Wiley Price
By Danielle Brown Of The St. Louis American
Vol. 92 No. 29
neys as co-counsel. Megan Crane, who co-directs MJC’s Missouri Office with Amy Breihan, will lead the project. Crane has served as co-director of the Center on Wrongful Convictions of Youth at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, the first organization in the world to focus exclusively on wrongfully convicted children. Previously, she was a capital post-conviction attorney exclusive-
See PROJECT, A6
Webster U invests $1M for 10 Suggs Scholarships American staff
Megan Crane, director of the new Wrongful Conviction Project, with exoneree Davontae Sanford
Webster University is investing over $1 million to offer 10 students a full-ride Dr. Donald M. Suggs Scholarship annually, even as schools still cope with the COVID-19 economic impact. The school awards the scholarship to academically talented undergraduate students from ethnic groups that are under-represented in higher education. The scholarship is in the name of Donald
See WEBSTER, A7