Almost three years have passed since Charles "Cookie" Thornton opened fire on the Kirkwood City Council in an attack that ultimately left six dead. Since then, the community has reached no consensus on why Thornton, a lifetime resident of the black enclave of Meacham Park, killed white city officials.
In 2007, Mayor Mike Swoboda delivered a candid warning to the Kirkwood Ministerial Alliance: Meacham Park, the city's mostly black neighborhood, was on the verge of exploding. Several ministers responded, but their work didn't prevent the 2008 shootings at City Hall.
Colleges and universities often pay attention to racial, ethnic and gender diversity among both the faculty and the students. But Fernando Cutz, Chase Sackett and Jamie James think that schools need to pay attention to another form of
On the 30th anniversary of the Organization for Black Struggle, Montague Simmons became the group's chair, succeeding Jamala Rogers. Simmons' friends say he's just right for the role: He knows how to reach younger people and to focus attention on
Recently, Attorney General Chris Koster released his 10th annual report on "driving while black." The latest statistics show an increasing disparity in traffic stops of blacks and whites. Last night, noted local criminologist Richard Rosenfeld
Assistant Principal Romona Miller (right) and counselor Donald Smith, two black authority figures at Kirkwood High School, have the most contact with black students. Miller heads the Black Achievement and Culture Club, while Smith mentors
When two gangs of black girls began fighting at Kirkwood High School, Robyn Jordan, Monica Gibbs and others got fed up. They organized to combat racial stereotypes and visited middle schools to urge girls to avoid fights. They found
Aziza Siddiqui was born in Afghanistan and raised in Pakistan. She returned to her home country in her 20s to work with women and girls. She was so effective that she was one of 10 women given a Woman of Courage award by the State Department.
Jabari Asim isn't an activist, he says. He's a writer -- and his words are being heard, from national radio to national TV, in magazines and books. His book, "The N Word: Who Can Say It, Who Shouldn't, And Why," has been praised for its nuance
If you talk to professionals on the front lines in the fight against hate, three things become clear: Success is vitally important, endlessly rewarding -- and largely impossible to measure. While it may not be quantifiable, anti-bias advocates
Social Issues · Kirkwood's journey · Education · Law crime · 2008 Kirkwood shooting · Politics · Labor
Charles "Cookie" Thornton · Franklin McCallie · Harriet Patton · Rosalind Williams · John Hessel · Michael Moore · Mike Gibbons · Fernando Cutz · Mitch Perry · Joe Cole
Kirkwood · Meacham Park · Missouri · Kirkwood City Hall · St. Louis County · Kirkwood High School · Carnegie Hall
St. Louis Beacon · Air Force · Kirkwood High School · Organization For Black Struggle · Department Of State · American Defamation League · Jewish Light · American Anthropological Association · U.S. Senate · Facebook
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Meeting in St. Louis next week, the Leadership Conference of Women Religious will have its first opportunity as an assembled group to consider what to do after the Vatican issued a mandate for change this spring. It calls on the conference to reorganize and more strictly observe church teachings.
When a family of four goes to the St. Louis Zoo, they can be forgiven for not knowing it will cost them $60, $72 if they park. If they can't pay, the alternative is to tell the kids they can't do what kids do at the zoo.
Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley gave reporters less than a half-hour’s notice today when he announced that conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh’s sculptured bust will be formally installed in the Capitol at 1 p.m.
They arrived four years ago as fifth-graders, behind in their work and not used to rigorous classes, but they've advanced rapidly and have a strong academic grounding for high school.
While the governor has commonly vetoed bills from the GOP-controlled legislature since he took office in 2009, this year may provide a test of how much weight his objections hold. That’s because for the first time since he became governor, Republicans hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers.
With congressional probes of the Internal Revenue Service and Benghazi likely to remain in the spotlight, both allies and critics of President Barack Obama are predicting that fallout from those and other revelations could endanger key parts of his second-term agenda.
The Beacon's Mary Delach Leonard and Rob Koenig extensively covered flooding in 2011 in Missouri. Now this coverage is compiled in an iBook. Read the stories.
“We speak in old language in a new witty way with contemporary feel,” Sean Curran said about the OTSL production of "Pirates of Penzance," which is set in the 1870s. Much of the Gilbert and Sullivan satire, however, focuses on still-relevant human foibles, government officials’ ineptitude and opera excesses.
The feeling is openness, with soaring, airy spaces planned for easy and logical circulation and planned to reveal art not only to its best advantage but also appropriately and respectfully. Still, the building is notable more for its architectural reticence than its audacity.
When a Chicago photographer found more than a thousand unidentified slides, he set out to discover the couple behind them -- with a little help from social media.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's arts and features editor. You can contact her at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Twenty winners will split a million dollars and a wide array of professional services after this year's Arch Grants competition. Victors will also see one-on-one business mentoring in their prize package. The diverse group includes everything from biotech concerns to fashion enterprises.
Eleven IT entrepreneurs vied for the attention of more than 70 investors at Capital Innovators' annual Demo Day. This year's crop of hopefuls wooed potential investors with eight-minute presentations on a wide variety of business ideas.
Innovation and entrepreneurial activity are on the rise in St. Louis, especially in bioscience, technology and alternative energy. The Beacon's InnovationSTL section focuses on the people who are part of this wave, what they're doing and how this is shaping our future. To many St. Louisans, this wave is not yet visible. InnovationSTL aims to change that. We welcome you to share your knowledge, learn more about this vibrant trend and discuss its impact.
The Academy of Science-St. Louis hosts tours of EarthDance, an organic farm, and the Monsanto Agronomics and Breeding Facility May 21-22. The workshop is meant to prompt discussion and answer questions about these two competing philosophies of food production.
Speaking to reporters at Monsanto, Howard Buffett warned that future generations would foot the bill for irresponsible soil use. He urged leaders to address thorny issues such as malnutrition and environmental destruction.
Vernon Bowman's challenge to Monsanto Co.'s patent on its Roundup Ready soybean seeds was billed as a David vs. Goliath contest. Goliath won and won big. The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that an Indiana soybean farmer had violated Monsanto's patent on its genetically engineered soybean seeds.
Sally Altman is the Beacon's Health and Science editor. You can contact her at saltman@stlbeacon.org.
When the Civil War broke out, Grant rejoined the military. He may not have liked it, but it was what he was good at: fighting. The battle that cemented his reputation began 150 years ago yesterday.
Democracy is our answer to perhaps our most difficult ethical problem: How do we ethically protect the social cooperation that makes our society strong, while respecting the rights of individuals to pursue vastly divergent visions of the good life and deeply conflicting moral and political beliefs?
When the first group of students who entered KIPP Inspire charter school in south St. Louis were ready to be promoted out to area high schools, seeing how they've done was a natural follow-up.
Donna Korando is the Beacon's Voices editor. You can contact her and submit opinion pieces for possible publication at dkorando@stlbeacon.org.