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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited SEPTEMBER 19 – 25, 2019
91 years serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis
Vol. 91 No. 26 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
‘Our children deserve our rage’
FebruAry 18, 1932 – September 17, 2019
Norman R. Seay passes at 87 Civil rights leader, educator, Alzheimer’s research advocate By Sandra Jordan Of The St. Louis American
Photo by Wiley Price
Cathy Daniels comforted Pashance Harrell, 14, a student at Hazelwood Northwest Middle School, during remarks at the Mother’s March Against Gun Violence rally in Fairgrounds Park on September 14.
Mothers mourn youth lost to gun violence, issue call to action By Kenya Vaughn Of The St. Louis American Three pieces of white poster board gave perspective to the alarming rate in which our region’s children are being tragically lost. After the crowd of nearly 300 marched through Fairgrounds Park on Saturday, September 14 for the Mother’s March to End Gun Violence, volunteers prepared to individually recognize the children who have died as a result of gun violence in 2019. Organizers pointed out why a few of the signs were different than the others. Cbabi Bayoc donated his time and talent by drawing the majority of the children’s names in poster-sized graffiti art. But Marty K. Casey and Mariah Richardson had to add their own artwork to include the three additional young people that were killed after he sent his posters to them for the march. The majority of the program following the march consisted of Cori Bush reading the names of the 24 deceased children – who
n “I’m a pastor. I’m not talking anything I’m not willing to do. What if we came together and provided safe spaces?”
Norman R. Seay, a longtime civil rights leader, educator and advocate for Alzheimer’s disease research, passed away Tuesday, September 17, 2019 in St. Louis. He was 87. “He was a true warrior for freedom, equality and civil rights whom I stood with many times as we confronted the bigotry and oppression of segregation in St. Louis,” said William (Bill) Clay, retired U.S. congressman. “He was a true hero in this community who suffered and sacrificed much for the cause of civil rights and equal opportunity.” Seay was a high school student in 1948 when he helped organize the Committee of Racial Equality, Norman R. which ultimately became the Seay St. Louis arm of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality. In 1963, Seay helped lead the protest at Jefferson Bank & Trust Co., which refused to hire African Americans for white-collar positions. Seay spent three months in jail for participating in n “Norman R. Seay those protests that and St. Louis civil resulted in jobs for rights will forever be African Americans synonymous.” in St. Louis banks and financial insti– Virvus Jones tutions. “Whatever task Norman would volunteer for, he would be highly organized, timely, and professional,” said St. Louis civil rights icon Percy Green II. Because of Seay, St. Louis is credited with being one of the first cities to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a municipal holiday. In 1970, two years after Dr. King’s death, Seay organized the MLK Holiday See SEAY, A7
– Rev. Traci Blackmon
ranged in age from toddler to teens – followed by the ringing of a bell. The last of the names to be called was Clifford Swan III. His name was one of the three written on white poster board. The 13-year-old was killed on Thursday, September 12. When Cori Bush read his name, there was a wail from the crowd that caused a chain reaction of raw emotion. That initial cry came from Swan’s mother, Trina Houshmand. See MOTHERS, A7
Photo by Wiley Price
Trina Houshmand, the mother of gun violence victim Clifford Swan III, was comforted after speaking during the Mothers March To End Gun Violence in Fairgrounds Park on September 14.
Bill Clay reflects on passing of Norman Seay ‘He was a true warrior for freedom, equality and civil rights’ By William (Bill) Clay For The St. Louis American
This summer, City Garden will launch its own training institute to prepare teachers to lead anti-biased, anti-racist Montessori classrooms in St. Louis and across the nation. The first pilot cohort of 15 to 25 participants will be about half City Garden teachers. The other half will mostly likely be
The recent demise of Norman R. Seay is another great loss to our communities’ legendary civil rights leadership team. He was a true warrior for freedom, equality and civil rights whom I stood with many times as we confronted the bigotry and oppression of segregation in St. Louis. He was a true hero in this community who suffered and sacrificed much for the cause of William civil rights and equal opportunity. (Bill) Clay Norman was an icon in the struggle for equality and fair play. He earned his induction into the decency Hall of Fame in the struggle to bring equality of opportunity to individuals and groups long marginalized in their efforts to achieve basic
See CITY GARDEN, A6
See CLAY, A6
City Garden Montessori to train anti-racist teachers ‘The inequity in our region is literally killing our children’ By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American City Garden Montessori, located in the Shaw neighborhood, is a preK-8 charter school committed to anti-biased, anti-racist (ABAR) practices. Finding Montessoritrained teachers is a national problem in general, said Christie Huck, executive
director City Garden Montessori. “Then when you add in our ABAR commitment and our deep commitment to equity, there just really are not training centers that prepare teachers to do Montessori in the public sector with an equity lens,” Huck said. “We are part of a national movement of folks trying to do this work, and there’s a deep need nationally.”