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PUB
DEF is a non-partisan, independent political blog based in the
City of St. Louis, Missouri. Our goal is to cast a critical eye
on lawmakers, their policies, and those that have influence upon
them, and to educate our readers about legislation and the political
processes that affect our daily lives.
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Ofttimes, torches are not passed on, but rather pried out of the hands of past generations.
In 1960, Missouri's own former President Harry S. Truman held a news conference to explain why he resigned as a delegate to the 1960 Democratic Convention. He accused John F. Kennedy's campaign of turning the convention into a "prearranged affair." He also suggested Kennedy was not ready to be president.
"Are you certain that you are quite ready for the country, or the country is ready for you, in the role of President in January 1961?," the then 76 year-old former commander-in-chief asked the 43 year-old Kennedy. "May I urge you to be patient."
On July 4, 1960, in response to Truman's words, Kennedy held his own press conference.
"The world is changing. The old ways will not do," said Kennedy. "It is time for a new generation of leadership."
Sunday's "Meet the Press" referenced this piece of history. We found this longer version on YouTube.
According to the Post-Dispatch, Katherine Remington Martin of Ladue was crowned the queen at Saturday's 123rd annual Veiled Prophet Ball. PubDef was not invited to this year's ball and we're really broken up about it (Gabe mostly).
The event is put on by the same organization that founded the V.P. Fair (now called Fair St. Louis). Watch this video we did earlier this year, an interview with activist Percy Green on the controversial history of the Veiled Prophet.
Heavy should be the head that wears the crown, Ms. Martin.
Jamala Rogers from the Organization for Black Struggle was the first person to testify at yesterday's hearing of the House Committee on Slavery Impact.
The committee, which is considering State Rep. T.D. El-Amin's resolution calling for the State of Missouri to apologize for its role in enslaving blacks, met in the historic Old Courthouse where the historic Dred Scott decision was first heard.
Committee to Discuss Apology for Slavery in Old Courthouse
By Gabe Bullard
Filed
Monday, December 10, 2007 at 1:07 PM
150 years after the Dred Scott decision, the House Committee on Slavery Impact will discuss an apology for slavery in the same building where Scott made his case.
At 2:00 PM tomorrow in the Old Courthouse downtown, the group will hold a committee hearing to discuss House Resolution 26, which calls for Missouri to apologize for its role in slavery.
"I think what's bigger than an apology is the opportunity to open a dialogue about the disparities that exist," says Committee Co-Chairman T.D. El-Amin. "There's a direct connection between those disparities and slavery."
El-Amin co-chairs the committee with Rodney Hubbard*. Other local representatives on the committee include Jeanette Mott Oxford and Scott Muschany.
El-Amin says the resolution has bipartisan support in many offices across the state. He lists House Speaker Rod Jetton, Attorney General Jay Nixon, Senator Claire McCaskill, Congressman Wm. Lacy Clay, State Auditor Susan Montee and Lieutenant Governor Peter Kinder among those who have shown support for HR 26.
"Team Four" Architect to Take Leadership Role at Metro?
By Antonio D. French
Filed
Thursday, December 06, 2007 at 2:57 PM
Following today's resignation of Larry Salci as head of Metro, the region's public transportation system, speculation has quickly grown about who will replace him. Several sources say Robert Baer, former head of United Van Lines, has been offered the job. And the Arch City Chronicle reports that a controversial former St. Louis alderman may be given the Number 2 spot:
Serving as Baer's top lieutenant will be former alderman John Roach. Roach is said to have the confidence of the Illinois component of the Metro Board, as he was deeply involved in the expansion of Metrolink to the East side. Roach also served on the National Commission on Intermodal Transortation during the Clinton administration.
Many older African-American politicos also know Roach as one of two aldermen, the other one being Richard Gephardt, who introduced legislation back in the 1970s to effectively kill north St. Louis in order to save south St. Louis.
From the August 7, 1975 edition of the St. Louis American:
John G. Roach, an original proponent of the so-called "Team Four Plan," has resigned as Alderman from the Twenty-Eighth Ward to become the first director of the Community Development Agency...
Known as one of the "Young Turk" faction of the Board, Roach, along with Alderman Richard A. Gerhardt (sic) of the 14th Ward, proposed an early version of what is now known as the "Team Four Plan" in the fall of 1973. The Bills, numbered 19 and 20 provided for the preservation of 74,000 buildings in South St. Louis which is predominantly white, and the demolition of 70,100 in North St. Louis, which is predominantly black.
Since that time, the plan to cut off services to the city's north side and allow that section to die was turned over to the Team Four consulting firm. More recently, the plan has been published and opposition to it has mounted.
Roach and Gephardt's 1973 bills called north St. Louis "an insignificant residential area not worthy of special maintenance effort."
It will be interesting to see if St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay supports Roach's new appointment.
The Gateway to the West Chapter of the American Political Items Collectors (APIC) will host a Jackie Kennedy expert at their quarterly meeting this Saturday. Steven Brawley runs the website pinkpillbox.com and will speak about the 1960 election and the first lady's term in the White House.
The APIC will also be buying, selling and appraising political memorabilia.
The meeting will be this Saturday at 12:00PM at the Carpenters Union Hall on 1401 Hampton Avenue.
Very few of the tens of thousands of people who attended this week's V.P. Parade know anything at all about its history.
Local Civil Rights legend Percy Green sat down with PubDef.net yesterday to discuss to history of the Veiled Prophet (V.P.) Parade and tell us the story of how in 1972 he led his group of militant ACTION activists in an operation to unveil the mysterious prophet.
Click to enlarge this 1975 article
