St. Louis Observer: May 6, 2022
St. Louis responds to potential repeal of Roe v. Wade; City Jail completes renovations; another #STLBOA attack on City's unhoused; new health clinic to open in Ferguson
Editor’s Note
This week’s Editor’s Note is written by Alisha Sonnier, community leader and St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education Member. Sonnier delivered this address on Tuesday, May 3, in front of the Thomas F. Eagleton U.S. District Courthouse. It has been adapted for the St. Louis Observer.
We refuse to see how connected our liberation is. The truth is that the same people trying to punish abortion providers are the same people trying to punish teachers for every left-leaning social element (use of “preferred” pronouns, Black history in schools, sexuality in schools, birth control and abortion). The same people who wish to eliminate public health also wish to do away with public schools, and this is no coincidence. Republicans have played chess while the Democrats still think they’re playing checkers.
We get to positions of power by telling people to vote like their lives depend on it, but then we don’t govern like people's lives depend on it. We use peoples’ tragedies to get into power, and then once we get there, we look our own people in the eye and tell them to watch their tone, to pull their skirts down, to cover themselves up, to be patient, to wait.
But today, we see what this waiting gets us. We see what happens when we only show up in the community for a name on the ballot, or when we fail to hold this entire system’s feet to the fire. Why do we elect people who won’t even name abortion? How does it make sense that someone who can’t even name abortion will advocate for and protect it? Why do we buy into the idea that anybody but us is qualified to represent and advocate for us?
Why is it hard for us to say this is an attack against “birthing people” and why have many of us bought into the idea that our identities and self-autonomy have anything to do with genitalia? Why are we so dead set on defining who other people are or what they can be?
Acknowledge the attacks on reproductive bodies. Acknowledging the attacks on all bodies. The attacks on reproductive freedom are very connected to the attacks on queer and trans people, and we cannot be silent or turn our heads away from this. In any matter of liberation, someone else may be the target for hatred today, but it will be you tomorrow.
In the News
Police, prosecutorial, and judicial accountability
St. Louis City Jail upgrades are nearing completion, including new “jail-grade” locks and metal mesh installed over outside-facing windows. Guard workstations are now in secured areas and tables have been bolted to the floors. [St. Louis Public Radio/Rachel Lippmann; KSDK/Staff]
A St. Louis City Justice Center employee has been arrested for allegedly bringing drugs - including fentanyl - into jail facilities. The arrest comes after several months of internal investigation in the City Justice Center and identified the officer as a source of illegal substances inside the maximum-security facility. [Fox 2 News/Chris Hayes]
Economic development & housing
Mayor Tishaura O. Jones has signed Board Bill 82, allocating $37 million in federal COVID relief funds to redevelopment in North City. Grants will be distributed to small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and “community enhancement projects” within 11 commercial districts and surrounding neighborhoods. [Riverfront Times/Monica Obradovic]
Realtors continue to find racially-restrictive covenants in recorded property deeds in St. Louis County, marking a time when white homeowners could legally block Black, Latino, and Asian families from purchasing homes with these covenants. The landmark case, Shelley v. Kraemer, from 1940s St. Louis County eventually pushed the U.S. Supreme Court to ban racially-restrictive covenants on property deeds under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment - the same legal foundation relied upon in Roe v. Wade. [KSDK/Travis Cummings]
A Black-owned bookstore has opened on Cherokee Street, dedicated to the Black experience and selling new and vintage Black literature. Noir Bookshop is the only Black-owned bookstore on Cherokee Street and one of the few Black-owned bookstores in the City of St. Louis. [Riverfront Times/Jessica Rogen]
Ald. Tom Oldenburg, the “NextDoor legislator,” has proposed another board bill targeting the City’s unhoused, this time with the intent to ban tents and homeless encampments on City-owned property. With Board Bill 14, Oldenburg, who routinely votes against measures that would alleviate the hardships faced by our City’s unhoused neighbors, adds to his repertoire of short-sighted, reactionary legislation with no larger plan in mind. [KMOV/Staff]
Further reading
Affinia Health has announced construction of a 15,000 sq. ft. clinic in Ferguson, and will include facilities for family medical, obstetric, pediatric, dental care, and behavioral health services. The new facility will also address a disparity in healthcare access for North County residents. [St. Louis Public Radio/Chad Davis]
In the wake of the leaked Roe v. Wade draft opinion, the Missouri GOP has doubled-down on its efforts to abolish abortion and to punish pregnant people for leaving the State in order to seek the medical procedure. Extremists in the Missouri Legislature would remove all exemptions for rape or incest and they aim to prevent abortion-seekers from leaving the State altogether. There have been no efforts, however, to address the reduction of unplanned pregnancies or supportive measures for persons forced to give birth. [St. Louis Public Radio/Tessa Weinberg of the Missouri Independent; St. Louis Public Radio/Jason Rosenbaum]
With the anticipated repeal of the Roe v. Wade decision, other laws rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment are now in jeopardy. Desegregated schools, the ability to purchase real estate, interracial marriages, same-sex marriages, and even women’s access to joint marital assets and accounts are at risk for repeal, along with Roe. [St. Louis American/Political Eye]
Beyond the Paywall
To read these below articles in full, please visit SLPL.org and access these articles through the Digital Content tab. St. Louis City & County residents can read these publications for free using their library cards.
“In wake of jail protests, St. Louis spends $7 million on initial City Justice Center upgrades,” by Dana Rieck, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“St. Charles to pay $1.5 million to settle lawsuit over jail death,” by Robert Patrick, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“St. Louis aldermen advance measure to ban tents on public rights of way,” by Annika Merrilees and Mark Schlinkmann, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
“St. Louis vacancy issue taken up in Senate committee,” by Grace Zokovitch, St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Legislative Update
St. Louis City Board of Aldermen
BB 14, sponsored by Ald. Tom Oldenburg (Ward 16), would ban tents and homeless encampments from City-owned property. The bill is heavily opposed by members of the community and was heard before the Public Safety Committee on May 4.
BB 18, sponsored by Ald. Megan Green (Ward 15), would establish the “City Youth Council,” comprised of children and adults, to serve as an advisory board on youth-related issues to both the Office of the Mayor and to the Board of Aldermen. The bill was assigned to the Education and Youth Matters Committee for further hearing.
R 25, introduced by Ald. Pamela Boyd (Ward 27), would formally support and endorse Medicare for All legislation, which would expand health security and health services to all, eliminate health disparities, and lower health care costs. The Resolution has been sent to the Health & Human Services Committee for further hearing.
Learn more about how a bill becomes a City ordinance.
Quote of the Week
Acknowledge the attacks on reproductive bodies. Acknowledging the attacks on all bodies. The attacks on reproductive freedom are very connected to the attacks on queer and trans people, and we cannot be silent or turn our heads away from this. In any matter of liberation, someone else may be the target for hatred today, but it will be you tomorrow.
Alisha Sonnier, community leader, podcast host, and St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education Member