The St. Louis Observer: September 24, 2021
Missouri's lone "police bill of rights;" high school students in St. Louis & Kansas city respond to separate racist incidents; ACLU sues over undisclosed CJC records
Editors’ Note
Three days before the Cherokee Street Community Improvement District removed the infamous “Cherokee Native” statute - depicting an offensive, caricaturized generalization of an indigenous American - an anonymous buyer purchased 43 acres of rural Missouri land that contained “Picture Cave,” a sacred Osage Nation site that contains hundreds of prehistoric cave painting and burial sites.
For $2.2 million, the sacred site transferred into unknown ownership, and with that shift came the harsh reminder that white colonialization has maintained its tight grip in the state that once served as the western headquarters for multiple armed conflicts against indigenous tribes. The Osage Nation publicly opposed the anonymous purchase, comparing the transaction to “auctioning off the Sistine Chapel.” Although the Nation had maintained a good relationship with the previous family who owned the tract that contained Picture Cave, the auction house that sold the property refused to identify the purchaser and left the Osage Nation in the metaphorical dark as to their holiest site.
The protection of property over people has shown itself to be an ongoing theme throughout Missouri history, especially when the rights of indigenous and Black persons are involved. From the clouded eminent domain of Hop Alley (St. Louis’ own Chinatown) to build Busch Stadium, to the systematic taking and demolition of Howard-Evans Place to construct Brentwood Promenade, capitalism always seems to find a way to prevail at the expense of brown and Black lives. Even now, local natural gas utility Spire Energy is fighting through the federal courts to run a gas pipeline through North County and City, threatening to pollute ground and water and to diminish air quality for the mostly Black neighborhoods.
Identifying the anonymous perpetrators of white supremacy and colonization historically has commanded attention in St. Louis, sometimes shifting power dynamics, other times pushing racists further into the dark. Fighting back can be as simple as tracking the sale of real estate through county recorders’ offices, or through participating in public hearings when utility companies seek to raise their consumer rates (happening later this year against Ameren Electric). But, what happens in the dark always comes to light, and there is nothing as threatening as a well-informed and organized electorate.
In the News
St. Louis’s history of war and Native American genocide in the spotlight
The Cherokee Statue previously displayed at the corner of Jefferson Avenue and Cherokee Street has been removed. The Cherokee Street Community Improvement District voted on Thursday to remove the statue, to be donated to the National Building Arts Center, saying “it does not appropriately honor the native communities that called this place home” [St. Louis Post Dispatch / Joe Holleman]
Missouri laws outside of national norms fall under legal scrutiny
In the wake of the George Floyd protests, Missouri was the only state in the U.S. to pass a “police bill of rights,” which affords special privileges to law enforcement officers when civilian complaints are filed against them and if they are criminally charged. Legal experts have warned lawmakers of the implications of the bill, which gives police more due process rights than civilians and undermines disciplinary processes. [Missouri Independent/Orli Sheffey and William H. Freivoegel]
The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on Missouri’s hyper-restrictive 8-week abortion ban that allows for no exceptions for rape or incest. Lawyers for plaintiff Planned Parenthood point to the law’s unconstitutionality while the Missouri Attorney General’s Office relied upon unsupported eugenics-based arguments. [St. Louis Public Radio/Dan Margolies; Missouri Independent/Jason Hancock]
Area school districts struggle with racism, learning loss, and funding decreases
Around 1,000 Parkway Central High School students walked out on Thursday following another incident of racism at both Parkway Central and Parkway North high schools. Parkway district students have demanded the establishment of a Black Students’ Union and for the school administration to implement an enforceable anti-racism policy. [St. Louis American/Sophie Hurwitz]
Across the state in the Kansas City suburbs, Park Hill South High School officials, students, and parents are responding to a petition being circulated around the student body, calling for the reinstatement of slavery. The school has reported one disciplinary incident, although officials were unclear as to the number of students involved with the racist incident. [The Daily Beast/Allison Quinn]
Standardized test scores released by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) showed a drop in proficiency across math, English, and science, with the largest drop in math, showing just 35% of students as “proficient.” The largest learning loss was reported among younger students, minority students, and students living in high-poverty school districts. Standardized test scores are not currently being used for federal reporting or accountability requirements. [Missouri Independent / Tessa Weinberg]
The burden of school funding falls disproportionately on local governments with smaller tax bases. Even when including charter schools, the two largest school districts in the State of Missouri (SLPS, KCPS) receive less of their operating revenue than outstate public school districts from state aid, leaving fewer resources for education and teacher pay in districts where students are disproportionately affected by PTSD, toxic stress, that face pressure to divert scarce resources for school resource officers, counselors, trauma teams [Missouri Independent / Humera Lodhi]
Further reading
Most of the federal rent relief passed this summer has yet to make it to families at risk of eviction. Federal officials have loosened documentation requirements but state/local application processes remain burdensome, understaffed, and a lack of landlord buy-in. Another eviction moratorium is being considered for the new Congressional session beginning later this month [Missouri Independent / Laura Olson]
Organizers for Proposition R, the St. Louis City ballot initiative that seeks to reform the ward reduction and redistricting process, submitted 38,000 signatures to the City Board of Elections. Prop R would shift ward redistricting to an independent citizen commission, as well as codifying aldermanic conflicts of interest and limiting the Board of Aldermen from overriding the will of voters. [St. Louis American/Dana Rieck]
Prior to the submission of signatures to the Board of Elections, Deacon Charles Chapman of the Saints Fellowship Mission reported that he was harassed by 23rd Ward Alderman Joe Vaccaro outside of Schnucks while collecting signatures for Prop R. Deacon Chapman cited to multiple instances where Ald. Vaccaro approached him in public spaces, name-called, and attempted to block voters from signing the petition. [St. Louis American / Dana Rieck]
The Missouri House and Senate held hearings to consider options for enacting stricter voter-ID requirements, including photo ID requirements by the Secretary of State, citing the need to manage the risk of widespread voter fraud. There remains little evidence of widespread voter fraud cited in these hearings [Missouri Independent / Rebecca Rivas]
The Medium Security Institution (“MSI” or the “Workhouse”, including the CJC Annex) currently houses 76 detainees due to overcrowding in CJC, and does not have resources to provide medical resources and services to detainees. CJC capital improvements are expected to be completed Q4 2022, according to the City’s new Corrections Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah [St Louis Post-Dispatch / Rachel Rice]
The ACLU of Missouri has filed a lawsuit against the City of St. Louis, seeking records related to multiple pepper spray incidents at the St. Louis City Justice Center (CJC). Using the provisions set out under the Missouri Sunshine Law, the lawsuit cites unreasonable delays in producing the requested public records, refusal to produce public documents, and other violations of the open records law. [St. Louis American/Dana Rieck]
The City’s Planning + Urban Design agency submitted a ward-level analysis of newly released Census data to the Board of Aldermen on Friday, showing the largest losses in population on the north side and majority-Black wards. The City’s Black population has declined 17% while its white population increased by 5.7%, a trend that will affect the ward reduction process led by Ald. Joe Vollmer later this year [St. Louis Post-Dispatch / Mark Schlinkmann]
Quote of the Week
“In August, the #STL Circuit Attorney’s Office recommended ‘No Bond Allowed’ 86% of the time. Denying the majority of people moving through the courts the possibility of fighting their case from freedom is not meaningful bail reform. ‘No bond’ recommendations do not create public safety.”
The Freedom Community Center “Court Watch” Twitter account, which follows and monitors the St. Louis City Circuit Court and the St. Louis City Circuit Attorney’s Office.
Legislative & Legal Update
City of St. Louis
The St. Louis Board of Aldermen has reconvened for the 2021-2022 session. Abolition-related legislative updates will be included here.
State of Missouri
The Missouri State General Assembly is on recess until January 2022.
Take Action
Individuals call the police because they witness or experience or (perceive) an emergency situation that calls for need immediate assistance. “Don’t Call the Police” provides community-based alternatives to calling 9-1-1.
For this week’s Call to Action, we invite you to bookmark this page and to use it as a reference for the next time you need emergency services:
https://dontcallthepolice.com/st-louis/
Finally, if you have not signed the clemency petition for Ernest Johnson, please take one minute to do so. Ernest is a man with intellectual and developmental disabilities (“IDD”) currently on Missouri’s death row. Although he is ineligible for execution and the U.S. Supreme Court has declared as unconstitutional the execution of persons with IDD, Ernest’s execution is scheduled for October 5, 2021.