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“font-size: x-small;”>Devastating 2010 Census data were released for the immediately upon the heels of the St. Louis American Foundation’s inaugural Salute to Young Leaders. We had just celebrated 20 talented young African-American professionals working in a wide range of fields, who have dedicated themselves to improving the region, when the Census data made it clear that we have been lucky to keep these young leaders and must be more active to attract and keep more high-caliber young people.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Mindful of disturbing population losses between 2000 and 2010 – 29,000 people (8.3 percent) in St. Louis city and 17,000 (1.7 percent) in St. Louis County – we looked back over the comments our inaugural group of Young Leaders made about the region, looking for clues to their success.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Darcella K. Craven, executive director of the Veterans Business Resource Center, admitted she once considered herself a “failure” when she returned to St. Louis after serving in the U.S. Army. This points to St. Louis’ notorious inferiority complex, where so many talented people from this region feel they must leave and stay gone to be counted a success. However, her fellow St. Louis native Bethany Johnson-Javois, CEO of St. Louis Integrated Health Network, embraces a very different sense of a region that is rich in challenges, which means opportunities. “St. Louis is the place for you to test out ideas and demonstrate your vision,” she said. “If you can do it here, you can do it anywhere.”
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Of course, Johnson-Javois has turned on its head something New York likes to say about itself. Her point is that “making it” in a city like New York, where so much of the heavy lifting already has been done, is actually easier for minorities than succeeding in St. Louis, which has lagged behind in making the most of its diversity and its other considerable strategic resources. Anisha Morrell-Charles, special assistant to the chancellor at St. Louis Community College, came here from a city with its own unique challenges, New Orleans. Since she has committed herself to St. Louis, she has seen talented people leave, and she has sharp words for them. “Unfortunately,” she said, “many of my contemporaries do not have any vision for the city, so they chose to live in the purported hot spots.” She is mindful of the opportunities that spring from challenges. In a region where there are challenges and so much of the hard work remains to be done, you need to have “a vision” for St. Louis –the foundation not been laid, the blueprint hasn’t been drawn up. The opportunity for invention and leadership is wide open.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Dr. Consuelo Wilkins, associate professor of medicine and psychiatry at Washington University of Medicine, also came to St. Louis from the South; she grew up in Mississippi, then received her undergraduate and medical degrees in Washington, D.C. at Howard University and her specialty training at Duke University in North Carolina. As someone who perhaps has heard a few local St. Lousians discuss “where they went to high school,” she offers some tough love. “Make no excuses for where you were born or the school that you attended,” she said, “because neither of those determines your character, motivation or self-worth.” To succeed in the St. Louis region as a minority, without question, requires an abundance of just those qualities: character, motivation and self-worth. The opportunity is open for those leaders who have what it takes and take advantage of the opportunities with a positive spirit and entrepreneurial attitude.
“font-size: 10.0pt; font-family: Verdana;”>Moreover, we agree with St. Louis native Angela Glover Blackwell that African Americans can be instrumental in helping America – and the St. Louis region – “see its future.”
