The Bible reveals to us, in Proverbs 22:1, that “a good name is more desirable than great riches.” That’s a lesson the East St. Louis Township Supervisor Alvin Parks is learning the hard way.
“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy,” said Martin Luther King Jr. “Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. T…
The 2020 census is this year’s most empowering and democratic event for the United States.
I recently moved to St. Louis (in June 2019) after graduating from Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. I was shocked at how prevalent the disparities in the region were. Many of my peers had a hard time believing what I was being exposed to. So I created a video as a way to display the …
What happens in the world has as much impact on African Americans as everyone else, yet there has always been an African-American school of thought that says foreign affairs is white folks’ business and we put our agenda at risk when we engage on that issue. Nothing could be more wrong.
On August 19, 1979, I woke up at my home across the street from Homer G. Phillips Hospital to helicopters flying overhead. To my surprise, the St. Louis Police Department had surrounded the hospital. The streets of The Ville neighborhood were barricaded for four blocks in every direction. Ph…
“When the United States uses military force, the American people and members of the United States Armed Forces deserve a credible explanation regarding such use of military force. The War Powers Resolution requires the President to consult with Congress ‘’in every possible instance’’ before …
Spoken on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives in support of H.Con.Res 83, a War Powers Resolution he co-cosponsored, limiting the president’s military actions regarding Iran.
The world we exist in today is a sad reminder of what the prediction was of “rumors of war" in Matthew 24:6: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
For the last several months the columns I’ve written have had something to with the 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary, and I’d now like to bring some closure to at least this part of that process. I referred to this part of process like preseason NFL football: it has nothing to do with wh…
A new year is supposed to usher in hope and new possibilities. Sadly, there is little in the St. Louis region’s history that exudes the promise of change. I am the eternal optimist only because I put my faith in everyday people, not the corrupt and incompetent people who thrive off power and…
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Retired Congressman William L. “Bill” Clay submitted this piece in response to news reports that developer Paul McKee Jr. plans to use the name “Homer G. Phillips Hospital” for a new, small urgent-care clinic. “It is apparent that many in the St. Louis community are unfamiliar with the histo…
Thirty-seven-year-old former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg is an openly gay military veteran, Harvard graduate and Rhodes Scholar who speaks eight languages. He has gained attention as the youngest amidst the current slate of Democratic candidates. But it’s his ongoing struggle to…
Like many years, 2019 was one of challenges and hope for St. Louis and our nation.
Akeelah “Kee Kee” Jackson, a smart, beautiful, 12-year-old child, lost her life after being struck by a St. Louis County Police officer on October 14. The officer failed to turn on his lights and siren for 32 seconds as he pursued a car for a traffic violation. It takes one second to turn on…
A needle exchange program offers sterile needles to people who inject drugs. This harm reduction intervention has been effective at decreasing risk and improving the quality of life for those affected. Needle exchange is a low-cost intervention which saves $100-$1000 per case of HIV avoided,…
In the 8th grade, someone I looked up to told me, “As a black man in America, you already have two strikes against you and to be successful you have to work twice as hard to not fit the misconception that young African-American men are dangerous criminals.” He also stated that “the third str…
Amid the tinsel and garland celebrating the holiday season, two important federal financial regulators are planning how the future financial needs of low-and-moderate income communities will be met. In an effort to “modernize” the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, on December 12 the board of …
The following claims and demands are made by the undersigned community advocates.
Can things get much worse for East St. Louis and Mayor Robert Eastern III?
Akeelah “Kee Kee” Jackson, a smart, beautiful, 12-year-old child, lost her life after being struck by a St. Louis County Police officer on October 14. The officer failed to turn on his lights and siren for 32 seconds as he pursued a car for a traffic violation. It takes one second to turn on…
All holidays in the U.S. are highly commercialized. Christmas is the most commercialized to the tune of $475 billion, according to National Retail Federation estimates. Lost in those billions is a big portion of the $1 trillion-plus spending power of black folks. Our consumerism rarely comes…
I don’t believe history literally repeats itself, but humans regularly find themselves in circumstances that are similar to circumstances of the past. And since humans are slow to evolve and learn, they find themselves regularly surprised when confronting similar circumstances and regularly …
It outrages me at this late date to hear commercials featuring the Drifters singing “White Christmas” and advertisements highlighting Charles Brown, Lowell Folsum, Muddy Waters, The Coasters, Howling Wolf, Buddy Guy, The Midnighters and other African-American artists who were not heard on…
“The fact that there’s a conversation that occurs on an annual basis on World AIDS Day is significant. The fact that the President of the United States, on an annual basis, now, comments and discusses AIDS, keeps it on the agenda,” said Jim Block, co-founder of World AIDS Day.
I rise today to hold Donald John Trump accountable for his repeated abuse of power, his deliberate obstruction of the House’s constitutionally-mandated oversight responsibilities, and his unprecedented misuse of the presidency to undermine the rule of law, weaken the separation of powers and…
The Ethical Society of Police is asking for an inclusive process during the implementation of the newly formed Diversity and Inclusion Unit within the St. Louis County Police Department. The head of the Diversity and Inclusion Unit should have a strong history of being a champion for racial …
There are several phrases commonly used by various ethnic groups to describe payback. One is “in your face.” This adequately applies to a situation that took place on December 10 in Richmond, Virginia. It was the unveiling of a 27-feet-high, 60,000-pound bronze and stone monument, “Rumors of…
The fate of Coach Trey Porter has finally been determined. Some would say the determination had little to do with his violation of the social media policy. Others would say the decision had nothing to do with enriching the lives of the students at Roosevelt High School. I side with the latte…
A year ago this week my mother was asleep in her apartment in the Meacham Park neighborhood of Kirkwood when someone broke into her unit and executed her in a brutal gun slaying.
As a federal prosecutor, I was always taught that my job was not merely to obtain convictions, but to seek justice. It was just as much my duty to ensure that the innocent go free as that the guilty were brought to justice.
This week, we gathered on the steps of Attorney General Schmitt’s Office for Lamar Johnson, who has been held in prison for 25 years for a crime he did not commit. We joined lawyers who demand the state allow Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner address this injustice or risk the integrity of t…
St. Louis is known for being a great sports town and one of the most charitable cities in the nation. Now a new charitable endeavor launching in 2020 will provide a platform to highlight the best of our region with the Ascension Charity Classic.
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Updated at 9:48 p.m. to include response from Mercy Health beneath original story.
The holiday season is a time when predatory lenders offer enticements to put more debt than money into your pockets. For unsuspecting consumers, it’s a temptation trapped in all kinds of packages that seem too good to pass by. In reality though, these deals are often a debt trap leading to a…
For months now, Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner has suffered defensive wounds from those attempting to prevent her from carrying out a justice agenda. While voters didn’t elect Gardner to spend needless resources and time fighting against racist and sexist attacks, Gardner knew it would co…
Yesterday’s announcement by the Trump Administration is step one of a three-part attack on the poorest and most vulnerable that ultimately aims to deprive 3 million of our fellow Americans of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance (SNAP), including half a million low-income children who would no …
In 1849 U.S. Senator John C. Calhoun gave a speech in the United States Senate where he said the following: “With us the two great divisions of society are not the rich and the poor, but white and black, and all the former, the poor as well as the rich, belong to the upper class, and are res…
Can things get much worse for East St. Louis and Mayor Robert Eastern III?
“Across the nation, families are struggling with homelessness and housing insecurity. We need to treat the affordable housing shortage like the crisis that it is,” said U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, introducing the Homes for All Act, which expands public housing stock and guarantees housing as a hum…
Ignoring the lives and legacies of African Americans is disgraceful. Most people know the story of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Katherine Gobels Johnson, black women depicted in the movie “Hidden Figures.” They crossed all gender, race, and professional lines while their brilliance and…
St. Louis County’s latest legal maneuvers in the case of Keith Wildhaber, a police sergeant who was discriminated against based on his sex and sexual orientation, is a hypocritical effort to dodge responsibility for a discriminatory workplace that county officials allowed to fester. The coun…
In the previous column I said a political philosophy is analogous to a religious faith and the advantage that the rich, privileged and powerful have is they practice politics the way average people practice their religion, as a matter of faith. I want to make a correction. Faith and religion…
As we enter this season of gratitude and thanks, I want to amplify a message of giving and the importance of caring for our neighbors.
When triple-digit predatory lending is added to already financially challenged consumers, paydays become exchange days, swapping those hard-earned monies for the bills waiting to be paid. Too many times the terms of credit, including high-cost interest and fees wind up costing far more than …
If you use mass popular media as your primary source of information to make decisions then you’re severely limited in understanding what a presidential election is all about is. Mainstream media treat presidential politics like a high school race for student council president – basically, a …
For months, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi was reluctant to move forward amidst calls for impeachment before, during and after the Mueller investigation. Pelosi’s reasoning seemed to be that impeachment would be divisive for the country and support was lacking from the American people. H…
Earlier this month, ArchCity Defenders commemorated its tenth birthday with a celebration including many of our dearest friends, partners, and supporters who continue to make our work possible. We were especially honored to be joined by clients that have entrusted us to stand alongside them …
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