At the monthly meeting of the Ecumenical Leadership Council, community concerns were addressed and voices were heard, promoting unity and action.
Resources for women and families impacted by domestic violence and sexual assault, recouping funding dollars for St. Louis Public Schools lost through tax abatements, galvanizing greater voter participation in upcoming elections, and a plethora of other issues and concerns were addressed in the monthly meeting of the St. Louis Chapter of the Ecumenical Leadership Council (ELC).
The ELC hosted several community-based organization representatives giving updates about their grassroots initiatives that impact African Americans and other people of color in St. Louis. The meeting was held on February 8th at Fountain Temple Church of God in Christ, 1138 Bayard Ave. in the city’s Fountain Park Neighborhood.
The Ecumenical Leadership Council is a statewide body of clergy, political, civic, and professional leaders representing St. Louis, Jefferson City, Kansas City, Columbia, and the “Bootheel” part of Missouri.
Collectively, the Council represents over 180 churches throughout the state. The goals include providing a path for economic, social, and political empowerment for the African American population, as well as building bridges with other faiths including Catholics, Jews, and Muslims, in addition to other racial demographics such as Asians.
Voter participation in the upcoming elections was a topic of discussion. St. Louis Alderwoman Pamela Boyd, representing the 13th Ward, who represents the political arm of the ELC, wants the churches to not tell parishioners who to vote for but to urge members to get out and vote to increase voter turnout.
“It’s about educating and empowering,” Boyd says. “I really want to push that we get the churches involved the way it was in the 70s and 80s when we had knocking on doors.”
Boyd’s informational brochure describes the election year, which culminates with the November 5th presidential election as “one of the most consequential elections of our lifetime.” Missouri will be choosing a U.S. senator and other statewide offices; a congressperson and state senator, state representatives, and sheriff representing the St. Louis area.
On April 2nd, two crucial propositions involving the Metropolitan Sewer District are on the ballot. Proposition Y, if approved, would authorize MSD to issue $500 million in sewer revenue bonds. If it passes, residents will see a 3% increase in sewer bills through 2024; if it fails, residents will see a 15% annual increase in bills during the same period, according to the brochure.
Attending the meeting was St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell, who has been endorsed by the ELC in his run for 1st Congressional District, against the incumbent, Congresswoman Cori Bush.
The ELC St. Louis Chapter is part of the Ecumenical Leadership Council of Missouri, a 501 C4 organization focused on social welfare. As a 501 C4, it is allowed to do political engagement and provide political endorsements.
ELC President-St. Louis Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten, Ph.D. says the organization is reaching its goal of obtaining political influence.
“We want to be able to impact the 2024 election in such a way that brings about a more equitable distribution of public resources,” Wooden says. “We are not seeking superiority, just fairness.”
On another matter about public education funding, the Council unanimously voted to support an effort spearheaded by the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Union, St. Louis local 420 for the St. Louis Public School District to recoup more than $160 million in lost revenue because of tax abatements.
“The money was taken from the St. Louis Public Schools to pay for other projects,” says AFT Local 420 President Ray Cummings. “This is $160 million that did not go to the city schools.”
The effort is based on a report by Good Jobs First, a Washington D.C.-based national policy resource center that promotes corporate and government accountability in economic development. Since 1998, it has fought for reforms to increase transparency around the use of public money in the name of economic development.
The report, titled, Overarching Disparities: How Black and Poor Students are Disproportionately Impacted by St. Louis-Area Tax Abatements, says economic development tax abatements and tax increment financing (TIF) have “cost students in city and suburban school districts more than a quarter of a billion dollars in just the past six years.” The report says St. Louis city schools have lost the most of any district: $1,634 per student per year or $167,949,116 from 2017 to 2022.
The report recommends that school funding be shielded from abatements, making TIF reforms, and consider using TIF to aid homeless students.
Cummings took recouping the lost funding a step further: He wants a portion of the money from the Rams’ financial settlement awarded to the City of St. Louis to be used to offset the city schools’ funding deficit.
When the St. Louis Rams NFL football team relocated to Los Angeles in 2016, the City, County, and the St. Louis Regional Convention and Sports Authority (RSA) filed a lawsuit against the NFL. A settlement was reached, and the three parties divided the money, which included $280 million to the City of St. Louis, including $30 million to expand the Dome at America’s Center.
Nonprofit, community-based organizations represented at the ECL meeting, included:
Project Circles of Support works to provide necessary resources to unhoused students in transition, families, and battered women fleeing domestic violence and sexual assault. Project Circles of Support provides personalized feminine hygiene boxes to help women feel dignified amid challenges.
According to a December 2023 report on the Project Circles of Support website, more than 250 hygiene kits have been distributed to St. Louis Public School females in transition. Some of the kits have included scarves, hats gloves as well as prophylactic to present sexually transmitted diseases.
“Our mission is to provide essential hygiene products as a foundation for self-care, nurturing both physical and emotional well-being,” says Carlotta Burton, the organization’s founder, and chief executive officer. “We strive to break the cycles of adversity, restore a sense of security, and inspire resilience.
We Power aims to strengthen Early Childhood Education (ECE) by increasing funding to address the “childcare crisis” in St. Louis. We Power is an empowerment advocacy organization aimed at improving the well-being of African American and Latinx populations.
According to We Power’s website, there are 89,132 children ages 0-5 in the City of St. Louis and St. Louis County. However, childcare providers in the city and county can only serve 47,219 children (52%). Further, only 5% of early childhood centers and homes in St. Louis are accredited.
“This should be a civil right,” says Charli Cooksey, founder and CEO of We Power. “This issue impacts us all. It is for our babies.”
We Power will be launching a promotional campaign in April to raise awareness about the childcare crises, Cooksey says.
Family Health Care Centers (FCHC) seeks to raise awareness about the need for men and women to get screened for colon cancer, says Dr. Aramide Ayorinde, CEO of the Family Health Care Centers (FCHC). The organization is a non-profit community health center dedicated to providing affordable and accessible comprehensive primary health care services to the medically underserved. The agency serves about 17,000 patients annually.
More than 50,000 people die from colon cancer each year in the United States, and the disease may not have early symptoms, says Ayorinde, adding that most people should talk with their provider about a colonoscopy once they reach the age of 45. The disease is treatable if caught early through a colonoscopy.
The disease took the life of Black Panther star, actor Chadwick Bosman, who died from complications related to colon cancer on August 28, 2020. He was 43 years old.
“A colonoscopy is the gold standard of determining colon cancer,” Ayorinde says.
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