Justin Phillip Reed won the 2018 National Book Award for Poetry for his book “Indecency” (Coffee House Press). In his poems, he experiments with language to explore inequity and injustice and to critique and lament the culture of white supremacy and the dominant social order. He is a recent graduate of Washington University’s MFA Writing […]
Posted inLocal news
Kevin L. Buie Sr.: focusing the needs of Edward Jones
Kevin L. Buie Sr. has the long title of department leader of U.S. and Canada receipts and Canada disbursements, along with outgoing funds in Canada, at Edward Jones, a financial services firm based in St. Louis with nearly seven million clients and $1 trillion in assets under management worldwide. And some of his proudest professional […]
Posted inLocal news
Patrick E. Smith Sr.: working his way up at Ameren
As vice president of Division Operations for Ameren Missouri, Patrick E. Smith Sr. leads strategy execution for customer operations and directs those responsible for design, construction and maintenance of Ameren’s electric energy distribution systems. How he made this career connection is intriguing. Years ago, after a power outage in East St. Louis, an 8-year-old peered […]
Posted inCharles jaco
If Trump survives, will this country? Yes, but only if we fight
Americans hoping Robert Mueller will remove Trump from office are like the optimistic little boy who wanted a pony for Christmas, but came downstairs Christmas morning only to find a pile of manure under the tree. He broke into a big smile, explaining, “With all of this poop, there must be a pony here somewhere!” […]
Posted inLiving It
Michelle Obama’s ‘Becoming’ is best selling book of 2018, more than 2 million sold in two weeks
Former First Lady Michelle Obama’s memoir BECOMING sold more than 2 million units in all formats and editions in the U.S. and Canada during the first 15 days of its publication on November 13. According to NDP BookScan data, the hardcover edition of BECOMING has sold more copies than any other book published in the […]
Posted inLocal news
St. Louis will boost the number of beds at its emergency homeless shelter this winter
(St. Louis Public Radio) – The city of St. Louis plans to add more beds to its Biddle homeless shelter, north of downtown, starting on Monday. The shelter currently has room for 100 men to stay overnight. Mayor Lyda Krewson announced Thursday that Biddle House will make space for an additional 50 men until the end […]
Posted inEugene robinson
Trump won’t go down without a fight
It didn’t take long Thursday for President Trump’s tweeted complaint about the Robert Mueller probe — “will it just go on forever?” — to look like wishful thinking. Michael Cohen’s blockbuster court appearance made it clear that Trump is (BEG ITAL)really(END ITAL) going to hate the way the investigation ends. Unless, of course, the president […]
Posted inLocal news
Four St. Louis City cops indicted for conduct in arrest and assault of undercover officer during Stockley verdict protest
A federal grand jury in St. Louis indicted four St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers on November 29 for their conduct in the arrest and assault of Luther Hall, a black St. Louis police officer who was working undercover at a September 17, 2017 protest, when city police beat, maced and arrested more than 100 […]
Posted inGuest columnists
Voter suppression and St. Louis Public Schools
To circumvent the will of the voters represents the epitome of voter suppression. The end of the Civil War followed by reconstruction gave rise to Jim Crow which ultimately led to significant numbers of African Americans being denied their right to vote. Historically, nearly 100 years passed before the passage of the Voting Rights Act […]
Posted inLocal news
Franks releases video from December 2014 Berkeley protest arrest, files suit for excessive force
On Christmas Eve 2014, hundreds of people had gathered at a gas station in Berkeley to protest the death of Antonio Martin, 18, at the hands of a Berkeley police officer. Martin’s body – which had just been moved – was still visible when the unrest got underway. That night several protestors were allegedly beaten, […]