‘We want to be conscious’ @stlouisamerican
Director Kym Moore speaks on art having the power to change how we see ourselves
Online at www.stlamerican.com/video
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CAC Audited SEPTEMBER 13 – 19, 2018
Vol. 90 No. 25 COMPLIMENTARY
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‘Close the Workhouse’
Homegrown Black Males
Advocates publish report with plan and call for shuttering notorious city jail
Learning to beat the cheat
By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American When Inez Bordeaux first walked into the Medium Security Institution commonly known as the Workhouse, she said she could feel the hopelessness. It was festering like the black mold on the walls and rats running under the cell doors. “You can feel the desperation,” said Bordeaux, a mother of four who was working as a nurse at the time.
n “I was crying because I was separated from my children and devastated to be in the worst place possible.” – Inez Bordeaux
In spring 2017, Bordeaux was arrested while driving for failing to report to a
probation officer – an officer who had actually never been assigned to her, she said. She landed in the Workhouse with a bond set at $25,000. Because she earned less than $1,000 per month, she wasn’t able to pay even 10 percent of the bond and ended up spending 30 days in the Workhouse awaiting a probation violation hearing. For the first three days, she was held in solitary confinement because the nurse deemed her a suicide risk. “I was crying because I was separated from my children and devastated to be in the worst place possible,” Inez said. “And See WORKHOUSE, A7
Stepping up for the King The Gentlemen of Vision performed during rededication ceremonies for the Martin Luther King Jr. statue in Fountain Park on September 5. The statue had been taken down after 40 years to be repaired and cleaned.
By Mike Jones For The St. Louis American Part of a year-long series, presented by The American and the Brown School at Washington University, on changing the narratives and outcomes of young black males in St. Louis. When I was 12 or 13 years old, my father gave me some advice that became the compass for my journey through this American life. He said, “Michael, if you’re going to gamble, the first thing you have to do is learn to cheat. Not so you can cheat people, but so you’ll know when people are cheating you. Because there are no straight games; in every game, somebody’s cheating.” He would also say your objective is not to make the game straight (fair), but to Mike Jones beat the cheat. I didn’t have the skill or the heart to be a professional gambler, but I would come to realize he knew that when he gave the advice. He was giving me a simple metaphor to explain what I would need to understand if I was going to make my way in America as a black man. I’m a member of arguably the most successful generation of black men in the history of the United States. Some would argue this success is a function of access to education and the expanding economic opportunities afforded us by a more See MALES, A7
Fundraiser for officer shot by fellow cop Photo by Wiley Price
All proceeds raised by Ethical Society of Police will benefit Milton Green’s family American staff
‘A true force for positive change’ Michael McMillan congratulated Save Our Sons participants Kamry Thames and Taron Booker when they received a scholarship at the Urban League Annual Dinner in 2016.
Michael McMillan is 2018 Stellar Performer in Education By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American When 26-year-old Lorenzo Davis lost his job recently, he knew he had to do some fast thinking. He sent a quick text message to Jamie Dennis, director of the Save Our Sons program with the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. “The bills don’t pay themselves,” Davis said. “The fridge – empty. I didn’t have any food in the house, but Brother Dennis – him being the goodhearted person he is – he went to his house, picked some See SALUTE, A6
The Ethical Society of Police is hosting a cigar social fundraiser to benefit former St. Louis Police Officer Milton Green, who was shot by another officer while assisting an arrest on June 21, 2017. Green sustained serious injuries that ended his police career. The fundraiser will be held 1-6 p.m. Sunday, September 23 at Montrey’s Cigar Lounge, 401 South Florissant Rd. in Ferguson. All proceeds Milton Green will benefit Green and his children. Prior to his career-ending injury, Green was his family’s primary breadwinner. He is now forced to apply for disability, struggling to support his family, and is having a hard time meeting his children’s needs. Donations and proceeds from the fundraiser are needed to help See OFFICER, A6
Photo by Wiley Price