For many young people looking to improve their lives, college may seem just out of reach. It’s not that they don’t want to go to college, but many can’t afford the high costs associated with higher education.

“The extent to which the 1960 undercount has shortchanged inner-city residents of the political representation and economic assistance to which they are entitled is incalculable. Two million blacks missed in 1960 could symbolize the loss of five congressmen and scores of state legislators to…

A recent poll, conducted by the Missouri Scout for its subscribers, asked Missourians a number of questions about gun control. The results were unexpected, given the perception around gun issues in our state, in that 77 percent of those surveyed support required background checks for all gun…

The days are officially shorter, 90-degree temperature highs are behind us (hopefully) and we can already taste holiday feasts and sweet potato pies. The last quarter of 2019 is here. Fall has arrived, but I can’t stop thinking about the summer pool party that shifted the way I see myself.

When it’s time to vote, will you be able to cast your ballot?

On October 3, Andrew D. Martin was inaugurated as Washington University’s 15th chancellor. The following is an excerpt from his inauguration address, putting into broader context his WashU Pledge, a bold new financial aid program that will provide a free undergraduate education to incoming, …

World Habitat Day was established by the United Nations as “a day to reflect on the state of our towns and cities and on the basic right of all to adequate shelter.” As a transplanted St. Louisan and CEO of our local affiliate, Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis, I am proud to celebrate the wo…

“I started when there were no cameras and no newspapers writing nice things about you, instead they were writing all sorts of ugly things,” said Juanita Jones Abernathy. “But we kept going. It wasn’t about us. It wasn’t about me. It has always been about right and righteousness. Justice and …

Why is it that Natural Bridge Avenue – a main thoroughfare on the North Side of St. Louis, a street teaming with many places of business – is such an eyesore? There are vacant lots filled with trash, an empty filling station property prone to vagrants the homeless and debris, a vacant old Na…

I was on the phone with a friend when the news came up, almost off-hand. He mentioned a police officer had just shot a teenager right down the street. Hanging up the phone, I walked outside to see a crowd moving up the road. I followed, and as we walked, more of my neighbors streamed out the…

St. Louis elections are broken. Too often, our leaders are elected by the few, instead of the many. When winners don’t have a mandate to govern, big money special interests have too much power. We agree with The St. Louis American editorial, written when the 2019 aldermanic president primary…

I’m for safer streets. I’m for Kimberly Gardner.

The killings must stop! There is nothing on this earth that is as brutal as watching children dying. The death of young children – for children to never see the rise of the morning sun, the love in their parents’ eyes, playtime with siblings and friends or growing up – is especially heartbreaking.

I strongly support Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s decision to launch a formal impeachment inquiry against President Trump, an urgent measure that I have supported for more than three months.

Missouri Chief Justice George W. Draper III gave a stinging rebuke to Missouri lawyers in his address at the joint annual meeting of The Missouri Bar and the Judicial Conference of Missouri on September 19. This is edited from his remarks.

Today, other stakeholders in the criminal justice system and I had a productive conversation about how to address the chronic violent crime St. Louis has been plagued with for more than four decades. I appreciate the invitation from Governor Parsons to collaborate on these important issues. …

Second chances are lifelines.

In “Before the Mayflower,” a classic black history text by Lerone Bennett, he writes: “Few ships before or since have unloaded such a momentous cargo.” The ship in question was an English pirate ship. That ship, in the summer of 1619, had stolen its “cargo” from a Portuguese vessel. The Port…

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 tr…

As this country continues to experience a crisis in affordable housing and homelessness the Trump Administration’s release of its proposal to reform housing finance falls short of many of the important principles outlined by the Democratic Caucus for fair, balanced, and comprehensive housing…

One group, a group with the most power to compel compliance, seems almost exempt for discussion of sexual abuse of women and almost exempt from full prosecution: police officers.

“The biggest movement and shift that we’ve seen in this culture is simply because of the victims. When victims and survivors are coming to the legislative bodies and they’re telling their stories and they’re appealing, we’ve seen movement,” said U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath (D-Georgia), mother of 1…

On a 2017 segment of “On Being with Krista Tippett,” civil rights icon and mentor to many Ruby Sales recounts the moment she learned to look beyond physical devastation and ask a deeper question that, when answered, has the ability to cut to the source of brokenness and pain: Where does it hurt?

Officials hosting the St. Louis Crime Summit for the St. Louis region on Tuesday, September 10 did not include any elected prosecutors. Despite the overwhelming message sent by St. Louis city and county voters through the election of Wesley Bell and me as top prosecutors, neither of us was i…

For the past 12 years, it has been my honor to serve on the St. Louis County Library District Board of Trustees with pride and diligence. I have witnessed the library grow to become the busiest public library in Missouri and be recognized locally and nationally for its innovative programming…

The El Paso and Dayton massacres brought the total of mass shootings in the U.S. since January to 253, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The archive tracks mass shootings of incidents involving at least four people being shot. My reaction to the wails of grief and desperation is we know…

Our region recently recognized the 5th year anniversary of Michael Brown’s killing and the subsequent turmoil that placed the St. Louis region at the epicenter of chaos and disorder. 

Recently, Bill McClellan penned a column about me titled “The Shadow Mayor of St. Louis strikes again.” The longtime Post-Dispatch columnist was referring to an op-ed I wrote here in The St. Louis American last week.  

Dear Alderpersons,

This week, a student told one of our social workers, “I just lost my brother, and now I lost my best friend. I can’t take this … anymore.”

On Sunday, October 4, 1992, when I was 16 years old, my brother Charles was murdered around the corner from my grandparents’ house. He was visiting one of his elementary school classmates. Two young men, motivated by beef with his classmate’s elder brother, entered the home and shot everyone…

As a mother, an elected official, and a St. Louisan, I am deeply saddened by the recent deaths of several children in our community. 

Like many St. Louisans, I vigorously applauded Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner's efforts and actions to develop, fund, and staff a Conviction Integrity Unit. This unit was a crucial step in a much-needed healing and restorative belief in the St. Louis criminal justice system. Its agenda en…

Dear Gov. Parson,

The community is once again in shock and mourning for the senseless murder of another innocent child, a young girl, which brought the number of victims to 12 this year alone. She had recently attended our back-to-school fair. We hardly have the time to mourn one young life lost when another …

I was disheartened to learn of yet another death of a black child due to gun violence. Though I did not personally know eight-year-old Jurnee Thompson, who was one of the latest victims, her senseless demise touched me deeply.

Missourians deserve a level playing field when it comes to the taxes they pay. They’re rightly upset by the thought that the system is being rigged in someone else’s favor.

Over the many number of years that I have lived in North St. Louis I can't recall seeing such a rapid decline and deterioration of neighborhoods as currently exists in Baden. The area has been neglected for far too long by the city government for any type of meaningful economic development a…

It is time for the mayor of St. Louis to engage in collaboration and create a constructive environment that benefits the working families who deserve to be able to count on reliable delivery of city services, safer streets and improving neighborhoods. 

As a former Ferguson Council member, I attended most of the quarterly status hearings on the consent decree with the Department of Justice (DOJ) from the start. I clearly remember several hearings in which Judge Catherine Perry, the DOJ and the monitor said Ferguson seems to be working in go…

As a former Ferguson Council member, I attended most of the quarterly status hearings on the consent decree with the Department of Justice (DOJ) from the start. I clearly remember several hearings in which Judge Catherine Perry, the DOJ and the monitor said Ferguson seems to be working in go…

On August 9, 2014 lives were changed forever. From the loss of life from Michael Brown to the multitudes of lives that were affected in the St. Louis region and around the world, Ferguson (and Civil Rights) would never be viewed in the same light. In the months and years that followed, we al…

Earlier this year, I began the hashtag #FergusonFiveYearsLater to honor the upcoming anniversary of the Ferguson Uprising and to acknowledge the fact that five years later so much has changed and so much has stayed the same.

Every moment Secretary John R. Ashcroft fails to do his job by not issuing language for the citizen’s veto of Missouri’s abortion ban is a direct insult to Missourians’ constitutional rights. Secretary Ashcroft is playing a dangerous game with Missouri voters by denying the people their righ…

Public transit goes well beyond the ride. It provides accessibility to jobs, education and healthcare. It promotes social equality. It positions the region for growth. It promises economic return.

The St. Louis County NAACP calls on President Donald Trump to immediately stop his racist, xenophobic attacks on four United States congresswomen in particular and immigrants in general. His words have been dangerous, inflammatory, and beneath the dignity of the occupant of the Oval Office. …

With over 200 years of a constitutionally framed democracy, America is now facing a test that will surely determine not only its destiny, but the destiny of the entire free world.

It’s a rainy Wednesday afternoon, and the thunder, lightning and downpour are no match for the steady hum of sewing machines and cacophony of conversations filling the room at the Sankofa Cultural and Art Wellness Village.

One of my favorite works of Professor Wole Soyinka’s is “Telephone Conversation,” a poem written more than 50 years ago while he was a student in London. “Telephone conversation” is a hilarious take on a very serious subject of racism encountered by African students from prospective landlord…

It's true I’m leaving the city.