Published by the STL American - March 13, 2024
Moving towards a vision of equity and inclusion for all citizens hit a temporary bump on March 4. After all that we’ve been through in this city, especially in the last decade, the prospect of white rule is an insult.
This city’s main two problem areas are a police department and a corporate community who don’t want to be accountable to its citizens. Together, they maintain a chokehold around the neck of the city. They disrupt any potential, innovation, or racial unity. They are resistant to change and any challenge to their authority. They have made themselves big players in this mayoral election.
“I find it racistly ironic that the mayors who were kicked to the curb after one term (excluding female Lyda Krewson) were all African American.”
Elections are revealing. The world saw that 77 million voters favored a president who is a convicted felon, sexual predator and shaky businessman over a highly educated, competent Black woman. It watches in horror as a band of rich clowns dismantle a democratic government and create global havoc.
The primary election was no different. Comptroller Darlene Green has kept the city’s finances in the black and the corporate wolves at bay for 30 years. Green has been re-elected eight times yet is now fighting to prove her competency.
On the other hand, Mayor Tishaura Jones has served one term, and the naysayers don’t believe she should get a second term. I find it racistly ironic that the mayors who were kicked to the curb after one term (excluding female Lyda Krewson) were all African American. The two white mayors–Schoemehl and Slay–served three and four terms, respectively.
This is when you know it’s not just about performance as Jones’ opponents would have you believe. Slay and Schoemehl made some royal mistakes, not just in their first terms but every term afterwards. Was the city more prosperous, more racially unified, or more equitable after they left office? Hell no.
A striking example is homicides. In 2017, St. Louis was tagged the most dangerous city in the world. (Cara Spencer was an alderperson during this time.) There were 205 homicides that year under Mayor Krewson and no wholesale effort to make her accountable. In 2024, there were 150 homicides under Mayor Jones—the lowest in almost a decade. Yet there’s chatter about people and businesses leaving the city because it’s so-o-o dangerous. The weapons used in most of the homicides are made more accessible because of the Republican state legislature but I hear no collective outcry for new gun control laws even after the city’s first school shooting in 2022.
I’m not saying people shouldn’t complain or be concerned about issues. What I am saying is, be consistent and fair. The lack of confidence shouldn’t be based on race, gender or religion. That would make one a hypocrite.
The recent attacks on Black people, women in particular, have been merciless. Those who dare to speak out against injustices or who attempt to block the steamrolling of white supremacy over the lives of people of color often face grim consequences.
St. Louis has a second chance to take a different path on April 8. Mayor Tishaura Jones needs a coalition of forward-thinking, fair-minded people to fight for a new St. Louis with her, to tackle our systemic problems in an inclusive and creative way. My “Dear White People” must lead the way.
Black folks are being pushed into a corner by MAGA fanatics and blamed for this country’s ills. It’s stressful. An all-white Board of Estimate and Apportionment (E&A) is not progress. Creating a local apartheid-like government in 2025 is lighting a match to dry timbers.
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