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.

I’m a suburban mom. I’m white, but I’m not fragile.

U.S. Senator Kamala Harris (D- California), the only black person on the second Democratic Presidential Primary stage, proved the importance of a term political scientists refer to as “descriptive representation.” This is the notion that elected representatives should share not just viewpoin…

I’m a suburban mom. I’m white, but I’m not fragile.

Our city is struggling with a crime epidemic. It’s been festering for years, and we are constantly looking for new and innovative ways to put an end to violent crime. Despite our best efforts, St. Louis still has one of the highest crime rates in the country. A recent University of Missouri …

The United States has built a defense that deforms the society it’s trying to defend. And local government could be the key to changing this equation because politicians in a democratic republic are rattled by the power of public opinion that can be expressed in local governmental bodies.

Now that the flood waters of the Mighty Mississippi and the miracle run of the Blues no longer command the role of lead stories, we are back on normal ground where crime, murder and shootings are the lead stories.  

Throughout my years of public service, many of you have come to know me and my story. My father died before I was born, a victim of gun violence. When I was a small child, my mother died from suicide. Missouri’s systems had failed her: our economic system, our education system, our health ca…

Access to comprehensive reproductive and family planning care is vital to ensuring the health of our communities.

St. Louis was once a beautiful thriving metropolis. with some of the most beautiful trees you would ever want to see. I have always loved trees. They are one of the many  gifts that God has bestowed on us.

On March 16, 2018 threats were made at a meeting where Eric Greitens’ defense team was present. In another meeting at my office on April 18, 2018, members of Greitens’ defense team asked to have a meeting specifically with two members of my team. I was informed that threats were made to my s…

In a mostly empty St. Louis courtroom, a man sat in the jury box, facing the judge. He was in an orange jumpsuit, as were the three men closest to him.

It’s been 30 years as of June 4 since a group of students sought to challenge the leadership of China and almost succeeded. 

“As long as the color of a man's skin determines his choice of housing, no investment in the physical rebuilding of our cities will free the men and women living there,” President Lyndon B. Johnson wrote to Congress in April 1966. “A nation that aspires to greatness cannot be a divided natio…

There are a lot of records that would be great to break. This isn’t one of them: June 16, 2019 marks the longest period in history without an increase since the federal minimum wage was established in 1938.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt recently released the 2018 Annual Report on vehicle stops, and once again people are outraged by the raw data. Currently, Missouri uses Census data as the benchmark for determining what the raw data means. Census benchmarking is inexpensive and uncompli…

The proposed demolition of the Wellston Housing Authority, a public housing development that serves almost entirely Black St. Louisans, paired with an insufficient plan for maintaining the Wellston community repeats a troubling pattern of disinvestment in historic black neighborhoods. We cal…

Ask Farragut Elementary School fifth graders to name the first African-American licensed pilot, and they will tell you Emory C. Malik. How do they know? The answer is an exciting, interactive curriculum and great community partners.

After having just completed my very first session as a freshman legislator in the Missouri House of Representatives, I wanted to share some thoughts and observations.

We’ve all seen them. Driving around our city, they stick out—and not in a good way. You could say they’re broken, dilapidated or run-down.  You could also call them what they are: a nuisance.

Mr. Governor, take your fingers out of Missouri’s vagina.

The decisions made in the Missouri State Legislature at the end of this past legislative session will serve as a stain on America’s history of progress and equality.

North St. Louis is a living testament of a city in decay. There have been five people shot in the 4000 block of Shreve and Kossuth in one night with four now dead. There was another death in the 4800 block of Kossuth and another man shot in the leg on Shreve and Anderson – all within less th…

The Missouri Legislature just concluded session. It can be difficult to keep up with the many changes and shifts that occur in our state’s Capitol. Everyone is aware of the nationally publicized house bill 126 that limits abortions at eight weeks from conception. This is a blatant attempt to…

The National Urban League’s 2019 State of Black America report, “Getting 2 Equal, United Not Divided,” an unprecedented examination of the state of the black vote, was unveiled this week amidst a new push in Congress to protect voting rights and secure democracy. 

It is with sadness that I announce this will be my last session in the Missouri House of Representatives. This was a difficult decision that I have made for the sake of my health, particularly mental.

When I look at the immigrant child – a beautiful, young, seven-year-old girl – my heart breaks. They showed her picture over and over again on the news, and I looked at that little girl and thought of my biracial granddaughter of the same age.

I want to applaud St. Louis Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones’ decision to raise the minimum wage to $15 for the working people of her offices. Her decision will lift families and communities across St. Louis and shows fellow elected leaders that supporting working people takes more than talk – it…

We can all objectively recognize that the current state of St. Louis city and county is unsustainable. The original sin of the City-County Divorce in 1876 has scarred our region. It has divided us economically, politically and morally. It has forced our municipalities to race each other to t…

As a member of Better Together’s City-County Governance Task Force, I concur with the general sentiment that our cause needs a serious restructuring.

Protecting fair, impartial adjudication is always essential and, for African Americans, now more than ever. Courts protect the rights of everyone, including businesses, individuals and even people who do not have access to the courts. Courts do this by making sure both sides are heard – whet…

The idea for a new park in Ferguson – Halpin Park, at 7533 Halpin Dr. – generated from a conversation Ella Jones, Ferguson City Council member for Ward 1, had with one of her constituents regarding an existing park (at 7486 Halpin Dr.) in Ward 3.  The Ward 1 resident expressed concerns about…

Imagine the following headline: "President Trump denies equitable funding for all children." If this story were real, the outrage and grandstanding would be unconstrained and land prominently in our daily automated news feeds. While the president has no involvement, this injustice has existe…

On April 15, I joined Washington University in St. Louis graduate workers and housekeepers in protest for a $15 wage and childcare for more than 1,000 working people on campus. Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, we held a sit-in at Wash U Chancellor-Elect Andrew Martin’s office to bring …