Having to fight is nothing new for incumbent 60th District state Rep. Jamilah Nasheed, who as a freshman legislator passed a piece of stand-alone legislation in the Republican-dominated state Legislature and is seeking reelection as a Democrat on Tuesday, August 5.
Nasheed grew up with her grandmother in the Darste Webbie Housing Projects and wasn’t always on the road to Jefferson City – at least not to the state House.
Her father was killed in a drive-by shooting while her mother was pregnant with her. And her mother – due to depression – killed herself when Nasheed was just two-years-old.
After some bouts with delinquency in the concrete jungle and coming to grips (to this day) with being an orphan, Nasheed said it was a trip to a black bookstore that put her on the path she is now on.
She then became the first African-American female to own a bookstore (Sankofa) in North St. Louis as way of giving residents an opportunity to benefit from books as she did.
Nasheed became an activist and co-founded UAPD (Urban Academy for Political Development). She went up against MODOT and MetroLink for their allegedly unequal hiring practices.
She was on the frontline in protest of the St. Louis Public Schools’ controversial multi-million-dollar contract with a consulting firm.
And when she took office in 2006, she didn’t stay away from the frontline of activism.
When Mayor Francis G. Slay’s administration got rid of former Fire Chief Sherman George, Nasheed protested and even knocked on doors to gather signatures to recall the mayor.
“It’s ingrained in my essence, and I don’t think I can ever lose it,” Nasheed said of being an activist.
“Adam Clayton Powell and Shirley Chisholm did it. You’re supposed to be an activist for your constituents. I learned to compromise and be more diplomatic in my approach, but you have to fight for your constituents.”
In her second year in the state Legislature, Nasheed was appointed to the House Budget Committee – one of the State’s most influential assignments because of its role in determining revenue allocation.
Because of that, she said, she learned of the concerns of her colleagues’ constituents and how to reach sensibly across the aisle.
She introduced HB21, a bill that expanded the prior scholarship-based A+ School Program that first excluded students at most predominately black school districts because their schools weren’t accredited.
Nasheed’s bill, which the Gov. Matt Blunt recently signed into law, opens the community college scholarship to all students based on their own
performance instead of district accreditation status.
“It was a good time for the bill because Pell Grants are being cut and deserving students with a 2.5 GPA can go to a two-year community college or vocational school for free,” Nasheed explained.
Returning to the House, she said she would be working on bills to solely designate St. Louis Public Schools as the only creator of charter schools since the schools take a significant of money from the district.
She has plans for a bill to abolish sales tax on food, as have more than 30 other states in the nation.
Primary fight
But the longtime fighter has a fight on her hands. Her opponent in the Aug. 5 Democratic primary is Kimberly Gardner, a St. Louis City prosecutor and lifetime resident of the 60th District. Gardner’s family owns Eddie Randle and Sons Funeral Home in the district, one of the oldest African American-owned funeral homes in the city.
Since no Republican has filed in the district, the winner of the Democratic primary will win the seat by default in November.
Gardner said she’s running because Nasheed’s record doesn’t amount to much and that the 60th district and the entire African-American community are dire need of enhancement.
Gardner said that while she’s an assistant circuit attorney (under the direction of Slay ally Jennifer Joyce), she’s interested in fairness and protection of the black community.
“I see issues that have not been addressed,” Gardner said, pointing to murders in the district and home foreclosures.
“We can do better,” she said.
Nasheed alleges Slay may be behind Gardner’s bid to unseat her, since she canvassed to recall the mayor and Gardner works for an important political ally of the mayor’s.
“That’s an outright lie,” Gardner said.
