Together We Thrive • A special publication of the St. Louis American newspaper •
St. Louis American The
JULY 31 – AUG. 6, 2025
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INSIDE
‘I’m here to help people’
Community
TinyHomeSTL teaches teens trades while building homes for tornado victims Farmers market gets help from a WashU program TinyHomeSTL’s Erion Johnson, left, helps youth volunteers use a nail gun while building the frame for a wall in a tiny home at the Wesley House Association on June 12 in St. Louis’ Penrose neighborhood. Johnson hopes to build 100 tiny homes for folks displaced by the May 16 tornado.
Construction of a north St. Louis farmers market and pavilion is moving forward, thanks in part to a new Washington University program where students such as Erika Yanou, above, design structures for local organizations.
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History
We must preserve the ‘Black Smithsonian’ The idea for the African American museum in Washington, D.C., gained steam in the 1980s. It includes a photo of former President Barack Obama taken by St. Louis American photographer Wiley Price.
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Business
Venice gets 2.4M state grant for grocery store The Metro East city of Venice received a $2.4 million state grant in May to help build a grocery store — the first step in a plan to revitalize it. Ed Hightower, below, will be the primary investor of the Venice grocery store.
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Photo Brian Munoz / St. Louis Public Radio
By Chad Davis St. Louis Public Radio For about three weeks, Torryn Gray has been spending his days learning the basics of homebuilding. One of those days involved using a nail gun to attach the studs that will connect to the other walls. On another day, he helped build planter boxes for a garden. Soon, he’ll learn electrical skills. On any given day, Gray and others can be found on the Wesley House lot constructing homes for victims of the May tornado. Like many other volunteers leading groups across the
city, they’re coming together to help rebuild north St. Louis. The difference here is they’re teenagers. “I see this as an important way we can help out people,” 15-year-old Gray said. “Giving them houses and a place to sleep, a roof over the head, some kind of form of shelter.” They’re part of TinyHomeSTL, for which about 40 teenagers are rolling up their sleeves, putting their work gloves on, and learning carpentry, roofing, and electrical skills while building. The group has an ambitious goal: 100 homes. “Me and other carpenters, we can build 100 houses in a
See TINY HOMES, page 18
‘We are diverse by design’ KAI Enterprises celebrating 45 years of service in contracting By Chris King and Alvin A. Reid St. Louis American Michael B. Kennedy Sr., who was honored as Lifetime Achiever during the 2024 Salute to Excellence in Business Networking and Awards n KAI is one of the largest minori- Luncheon, shared that a ty-owned archi“distaste” for tecture, engineer- business as ing, and construc- usual regarding minority contion (AEC) firms tractors led him in the country. to found KAI Enterprises in 1980. “In the late 1970s, minority participation was being forced on publicly funded developments. In the design industry, majority-owned architectural firms were required to team with a minority-owned firm for 10% of the work.
See KAI, page 14
Photo courtesy of KAI
Michael B. Kennedy Sr. founded KAI Enterprises in 1980 and guided the firm as it grew to one of the largest minority-owned and led architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms in the country. The firm is celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2025.