Fighting threat of closure from city
By Bill Beene
Of the St. Louis American
“It’s West Side forever!
Those four silencing words that shot out of a young man’s voice into a rallying crowd Tuesday at the West End Community Center (WECC) sounded like the set-claiming battle cry of gangbanger.
That’s because Marcus Moore, 31, used to be a gangbanger. His set was in the neighborhood that’s served by the WECC, which is facing closure by a new civic committee created to free up monies for other “highbrow” city projects.
The committee is made up of aldermen on the Ways and Means Committee, which is concerned with questions of finance, assessments, budget, public debt and appropriations.
Terry Kennedy, 18th Ward alderman, and 26th Ward Alderman Frank Williamson, who serve on the committee, said they have already told Ways and Means Committee chair Stephen Conway “no way.”
WECC is housed in Kennedy’s ward and also services Williamson’s ward.
Both aldermen attended the meeting Tuesday called by West End Community Conference Executive Director Marie Fowler.
“We need meaningful programs to keep kids off the street,” Fowler said. “If they can use our taxpayer money to pay for the Cardinals’ stadium, they can keep this center open.”
Several other WECC supporters voiced their support of the center and its continued service to the area.
WECC houses non-profit organizations and social programs, like Better Family Life, Inc., after-school and GED programs, University of Missouri Extension Program, and Afrikan Heritage Drummers and Dancers. It is already “under-funded” by the city and “under-staffed” by the city’s Department of Recreation, according to community activist Jamala Rogers.
The center currently closes at 2 p.m. on Saturdays and isn’t offered the staff to manage the swimming pool.
While the center could use more money to upgrade its service to the community, many supporters said it is indispensable.
“You don’t know how many lives this building has saved,” said Sonny Metcalfe, who grew up in the neighborhood and runs WBMS, a performing arts program housed at WECC. A group of WBMS singers performed at former President Clinton’s Inaugural Ball.
“The gas bill here is probably one dollar for every kid this center services,” Metcalfe said, of a report that cites the center’s expensive utility bills.
Malik Ahmed, president and CEO of Better Family Life, said the center has been the life force and cornerstone of children, meetings and ideas.
“BFL and so many other organizations were able to incubate into thriving organizations, and there are so many more waiting to come up,” Ahmed said.
“We cannot afford to sell out our future (children) for budget cuts.”
Rogers, a former youth director for the city of St. Louis, said the budget for programs like those housed in WECC get cut more and more each year.
“When kids don’t have a place like this, they make their own fun in the streets. Then you all call the police on them, and you know what happens then,” Rogers said.
“A lot of them don’t have cars and don’t need to be walking to Wohl (the nearest alternative), because gang violence is still prevalent. Don’t feed the fire – you need a safe haven.”
Marcus Moore recounted his gangbanging past and said his life and many others might have been saved by the West End Community Center.
“We didn’t have any place to go to keep from banging,” Moore said. “For five summers, it was funeral after funeral. Some of us did it, so some of us can’t come back, but some of us did and we’re here and I’m as ‘hood as it gets.”
Moore told youths and former gangbangers in the audience, “Let’s represent, before shouting, ‘West Side for forever.’”