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St. LouiS AmericAn The
CAC Audited SEPT. 26 – OCT. 2, 2019
91 years serving, empowering and advocating equity in St. Louis
Vol. 91 No. 27 COMPLIMENTARY
stlamerican.com
Celebrating success while confronting loss
Gardner under attack Defenders of a failed status quo continue to criticize circuit attorney By state Senator Jamilah Nasheed For The St. Louis American
cut short, join me in a moment of silent prayer in honor of each of them, their lives cut short by violence and in extending sympathy to their grieving families.” By the end of the night, scholarships would be awarded to 30 students, bringing the value of scholarships provided by the foundation and its partners to more than $1.2 million in 2019. When all of the scholars were gathered on the
I’m for safer streets. I’m for Kimberly Gardner. Public safety should be the top priority of every elected official in St. Louis. Anyone who takes an Oath of Office should be laser focused on making our streets safer by preventing gun violence, stopping human trafficking, and ridding our communities of the heroin and opioid epidemic. That is why I fully support and applaud the efforts of Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner to achieve these goals and more. Kimberly Gardner has always put the people of St. Louis first. Her intelligence, Jamilah leadership and character Nasheed are why I endorsed her to fill my seat in the Missouri House of Representatives when I was elected to the state Senate. While in the House, she proudly represented the people of North St. Louis for two terms before being elected by voters as the first black circuit attorney in the history of our city. Her progressive message of criminal justice reform, reducing violent crime, and restoring trust between police and n There will always the citizens they serve resonated be those who with voters, and wish to protect the her commitment failed status quo to these efforts has by attacking those never wavered. Gardner has whom the people have chosen to lead. reduced, and in many cases abolished, cash bond for minor, nonviolent offenses to ensure that precious resources are not wasted on jailing the poor. She has worked to help those with substance use disorders find treatment through expanded diversion and drug court programs, ensuring that the catch-and-release mindset that too often trapped people in a cycle of crime and addiction will now be broken with treatment and care. Gardner also worked with my office this past year to secure an additional $250,000 in the state budget to support diversion programs in the City
See SALUTE, A7
See GARDNER, A7
Photo by Lois Ingrum
The St. Louis American Foundation’s 2019 Lifetime Achievers in Education Award Shirley and Charles Brown were presented with their portrait by St. Louis American photojournalist Wiley Price.
Salute honors Charles and Shirley Brown as Lifetime Achievers, Valerie Bell as Stellar Performer By Chris King Of The St. Louis American As a scholarship event for striving African-American students and a celebration of those who educate and support them, the St. Louis American Foundation’s 2019 Salute to Excellence in Education on Saturday, September 21 was haunted by some youth who could not be there. Donald M. Suggs, president of the
foundation and publisher and executive editor of The St. Louis American, began the 32nd annual Salute on a solemn note: by asking the crowd of 1,200 to share a moment of silence in memory of more than 20 youths killed in the St. Louis region since last school year. “Words cannot express the intense grief and remorse our community is experiencing because of the horrific loss of so many of our young people,” Suggs said. “As we mourn the tragedy of so many young lives senselessly
Cure Violence funding and process moves forward Corion Love, 15, spoke with his mentor Darren Seals, founder of Sankofa Unity Center, at the September 12 informational meeting on Cure Violence, which was held at the Deaconess Center for Child Well-Being.
Jamala Rogers: ‘This is restorative justice, and they go hard’ By Rebecca Rivas Of The St. Louis American Florissant resident Corion Love, 15, understands why young people often get involved in selling drugs. “They’re trying to make some money to help their mama,” Love told The St. Louis American. “Some mamas are struggling, and they don’t got good jobs to pay all the bills. So, they get on the block to help out.” Getting fast money on “the block” is the only thing some young people feel like they
can do to earn money, he said. Fifty percent of all homicides in the City of St. Louis are drug-related, said St. Louis Metropolitan Police Chief John Hayden, and low-level drug activity also contributes to a majority of gun violence as well. “The only way to stop all this violence is to go around to the corners and hand out jobs,” Love said. “That’s the only way to keep them off the streets, because they aren’t going to keep off the streets if they have no money in See VIOLENCE, A6
Photo by Rebecca Rivas