Tomorrow night, February 1, opponents of the Mayor Francis Slay’s decisions to demoted Fire Chief Sherman George, support the State takeover of the public schools, and veto a police Civilian Review Board will picket outside the Mayor’s Mardi Gras Masquerade Ball from 6 to 7:30 PM on the east side of City Hall.

At approximately 7:00 picketers dressed as the ghosts of the City Fire Department, the Elected School Board, and the vetoed police Civilian Review Board will lead a procession to the front door of the City Hall and seek to join the Ball in a dance of discontent.

Citing this video from last week’s tumultuous events at the Old Courthouse, the group opposing Mayor Francis Slay is asking jazz artist Wynton Marsalis to forgo his plans to perform in St. Louis next week in honor of the call for an economic boycott of the city resulting from Slay’s rift with the black community.

To: Mr. Wynton Marsalis

Dear Mr. Marsalis:

We are forwarding to you a video which captures the recent incident of the Mayor of St. Louis, Francis Slay, being literally shouted down at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration at the Old Courthouse last week. This video demonstrates how the racial tension in this city is escalating to a fever pitch, receiving front-page coverage last week in both the white and black press and being widely broadcast on every TV and radio station.

We bring this to your attention because I have not heard back from Ms. Stewart, who I understand is your agent, since my January 7, 2008 e-mail to her, which was in follow-up to previous correspondence and e-mails concerning a Boycott Alert that we have issued because of this racial strife.

It is now critical that you communicate with us immediately - prior to your scheduled concert - so that we can make you aware of our position with respect to your appearing here in St. Louis.

We would ask that you show the black community here during this crisis the same kind of courtesy and respect being demonstrated by the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), which is threatening to cancel its 2011 convention that is expected to generate $30 million in business for the city. (This information was sent to Ms. Stewart as well).

We hope and trust that you will follow NSBE’s example of hearing first hand the concerns of our community, and then let that weigh on your consciousness and conscience. This video amply illustrates how disruptive this situation potentially is because of the deeply felt racial injustice, and we think that you, like NSBE, can and should play an important role in curing this.

Thank you, and because of the urgency, we will expect to hear from you within the next 24 hours.

Eric E. Vickers
Chairman Boycott Committee
Citizens to Support Fire Chief George

Marsalis is scheduled to perform February 1 and 9 at the Sheldon Concert Hall.

Reporter Lucas Hudson interviews Mayor Francis Slay in this week’s issue of the Vital VOICE.

From Hudson’s intro:

The city’s sweltering racial thermometer portends an all-out political meltdown as Mayor Francis Slay was booed right out of the Old Courthouse by supporters of the city’s ousted first black fire chief, Sherman George, as he gave a speech Jan. 21 honoring Martin Luther King Jr. This humiliating show of resentment demonstrates that Slay’s legacy is in danger of being permanently branded with the scarlet R of racial unrest.

African-American displeasure with his administration did not start with the political game of chicken that resulted in the public demotion of George, but that event lit the match in an environment already filled with the fumes of African-American distrust, suspicion and anger at what some have described as Slay’s “racial politics.”

In a Jan. 11 interview with the Vital VOICE, Mayor Slay speaks to these issues, and also outlines African-American progress that has taken place under his administration, declaring that “There isn’t enough coverage of positive news.”

From the interview:

The Vital Voice: We both know that some of the city’s African-American leaders are up in arms over what many have described as your “racial politics.” With racial tension inflamed in the wake of Fire Chief Sherman George’s removal, The National Society of Black Engineers has threatened to move its 2011 conference scheduled to take place in St. Louis unless the situation changes. In addition, a citizen’s group primarily made up of African-Americans called the Citizens to Recall Mayor Slay has started an effort to recall you from office.

Consultant and blogger Antonio French’s site (www.PubDef.net) lists major gripes the black community has with your administration, which I have paraphrased. They include:

• Disassembling the city’s largest black voting ward (the former 20th).
• Removal of the city’s only ever black fire chief and the subsequent 4-to-1 promotion of whites over blacks.
• The closing of more than a dozen schools (neighborhood anchors) in North St. Louis.
• The disproportionate investing of hundreds of millions of tax dollars in downtown and white neighborhoods, while northern black neighborhoods continue to suffer.

Mayor Slay, if you don’t agree with African-American disillusionment regarding your administration, can you at least understand it?

Mayor Slay: I am very aware of some racial unrest in the City of St. Louis. I am very aware of some of the reaction to what happened in the Fire Department. I will also tell you that if Chief George had made the promotions, he would still be the chief. I talked to civic, political and clergy leaders throughout the community during the process before any decisions were made. I want you and the community to know that I did everything I could to try and get the promotions done without confrontation or controversy. I respect Sherman George as a man of principle, but ultimately, we disagreed how to handle that situation.

There isn’t anybody in St. Louis that agrees with every decision I have made, but there are some people that want to divide the city. However… I don’t think anybody can argue with the fact that St. Louis is much better today than it was seven years ago. We were losing jobs and people faster than virtually any other city in America. Now, our job base has stabilized, our population is on the increase, and we’re getting national and international recognition for our successes. Chief Mokwa and I just announced that crime in the city has dropped 16 percent from last year. Crime is now at a 35-year low. That is something that impacts everybody positively.

Have we solved all the issues? We have not. And some of those allegations like disassembling the largest black ward in the city…Well, the people are still there. If that was the largest black voting ward the city, it is still the largest black voting ward in the city, but it just has a different number on it.

Most people only hear the negatives, and there is no balanced view. For example, the affordable housing initiative that I helped pass is spending $5 million a year, with much of that money impacting people of color. When I took office in the year 2000, 31 percent of the kids tested were positive for lead, and now it is only six percent. The neighborhoods with high incidences of lead poisoning are in predominately African-American areas. I am not suggesting there are no more challenges and everything is fine, but there isn’t enough coverage of positive news.

VV: What specifically have you done, and what more can you do to defuse the current racial tension in the city?

MS: I have been working hard to call upon fair-minded people who are very interested, regardless of what they think of my decision or how it was done—to pull together, begin the healing process and move the city forward. I believe that is going to take some time, but I have been very encouraged by conversations with a number of black leaders. I believe I realize how deep this issue goes, and I am not taking this tension for granted. It is going to take a lot of work and leadership from me and my office.

Click here to read the entire Vital VOICE interview.

Dr. Henry Givens, Jr.
Chairman
Martin Luther King, Jr. State Celebration Commission
3026 Laclede Avenue
St. Louis, Mo. 63103

Re: St. Louis Racial Climate - Economic Boycott Alert

Dear Dr. Givens:

We write concerning the current intense racial climate in the city of St. Louis, which was sparked by Mayor Francis Slay recently ousting the city’s first and only black fire chief, Sherman George, replacing him with a less qualified white, and then promoting white firefighters to 80% of thirty-four high-ranking captain and battalion chief positions that were open.

As you may be aware, we have initiated a Recall campaign against the mayor, and have also issued a Boycott Alert to organizations, entertainers and celebrities planning to come to St. Louis, advising them of the atrocious racial circumstances and conditions now pending in the city, and of our intention to launch a boycott of the city if this situation is not corrected.

As you may also be aware, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), in responding to the Boycott Alert, has put the city on notice that it may cancel its national convention that is scheduled to be held in St. Louis in 2011, and that is expected to draw over fifteen thousand and have a $30 million economic impact on the city.

We are aware, of course, of the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. activities being planned by your Commission for January 21, 2008, including the program at the Old Courthouse and the march to Powell Symphony Hall.

Because of the manner in which the mayor has totally disrespected the black community with his handling of this issue, we respectfully request that your Commission not invite Mayor Slay to either speak at the Old Courthouse or participate at the head of the march. Frankly, given what the mayor has done, it would be slap in the face to the memory of Dr. King for him to participate in any sort of prominent way at this hallow event.

We commend you and the Commission for the fine work you have done over the many years in honoring and preserving the important message of Dr. King, and we thank you for your earnest consideration of this request.

Sincerely yours,

Eric E. Vickers
Chairman Economic Boycott Committee

First the New York Times, now the Associated Press via the Boston Herald.

From yesterday’s Herald:

Few brotherhoods are as strong as the one among firefighters, who depend on one another just to stay alive. But powerful racial tensions have divided the St. Louis Fire Department and spilled over recently to City Hall.

In October, the city’s white mayor, Francis Slay, demoted black Fire Chief Sherman George after a three-year dispute over the firefighter promotion exam.

Since then, the FBI has investigated two incidents inside engine houses that were reported as possible hate crimes — one involving a stuffed monkey hung by the neck, the other a noose tied around a cracker box.

More…

George — the city’s first black chief — himself won his first promotion only because of a federal court order in 1978 that found the department’s tests for promotions discriminated against blacks. George, 63, and other black veterans of the department say racism hindered their rise at every step.

“The fire department was a country club for white folks,” said retired Capt. Baby Webber, who is black. “Then the black folks started coming in and breaking up their country club.”

Click here to read the full story.

Slay to Black St. Louis: I Don’t Need You.

For many, the humiliating demotion of the city’s first black fire chief was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. But the “Wutcha gonna do about it?” posturing of Mayor Francis Slay and his chief of staff Jeff Rainford brought together people from all walks of life to call for an end to the politics of division that have defined the Slay Administration.

Citing the City of St. Louis’ current racial problems, the chairman and the executive director of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) said today they will give Mayor Francis Slay six months to make peace with the city’s black community or they will relocate their 2011 national convention and take its millions of dollars of economic impact elsewhere.

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PubDef, along with crews from Channel 4 and 5, waited for Mayor Slay or a spokesman to discuss his meeting with NSBE, but no one came out by 5:00 and we all left.

THIS STORY WAS NOT REPORTED LAST NIGHT ON KMOV CHANNEL 4 or KSDK CHANNEL 5 10:00 NEWS SHOWS EVEN THOUGH BOTH HAD REPORTERS AND CAMERAS AT THE SCENE.

In response to the recent call to boycott the City of St. Louis, the Chairman of the Board and the Executive Director of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) will arrive in St. Louis tomorrow to meet separately with community leaders and Mayor Francis Slay to determine whether NSBE will cancel its national convention scheduled for 2011 in St. Louis. That’s according to the group which called for the boycott and are seeking to remove Slay from office.

By some estimates, the NSBE convention is expected to draw 15,000 visitors and generate as much as $25 million in business for the city.

According to a press release from Slay’s opponents, the head of the NSBE will meet with their group before his meeting with the Slay, and will follow that meeting with a joint press conference with the group at 1:30 PM at the Gateway Classic Foundation building.

Check back tomorrow for video.

From KSDK.com: “Slay Says More Needs To Be Done To Address Racial Divide“

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay told Channel 5 reporter Cordell Whitlock yesterday that he thinks Firefighters Union Local 73, which is white-dominated, and F.I.R.E., the African-American firefighters organization, need to come together.

But as Slay was quick to publicly remind ex-fire chief Sherman George, the mayor’s office controls the fire department. He can, as he did with George, order both sides to the table.

Instead, he has clearly sided with Local 73.

To now say “something” needs to be done by “someone” “someday” is just skirting his responsibilities once again.

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Click here to watch KSDK’s softball interview with Slay.

This whole ugly mess with the stuffed monkey hanging in Firehouse 13 has brought to light a serious problem in how the Slay Administration is running both the St. Louis Fire Department and the City.

When the media learned about this incident from a mass email sent out by a member of F.I.R.E. (the organization representing black firefighters), Mayor Francis Slay and his public safety director Charles Bryson responded a few days later by forwarding the situation F.B.I. At no time did the mayor’s office or the public safety director meet with or even call leaders of the black firefighters organization to try to dampen the flames which such an incident could ignite.

The Slay Administration’s policy with regard to the fire department is to deal only with the firefighters union, Local 73, and not the black firefighters association. The new fire chief also operates under this policy.

It is interesting that the old chief, Sherman George, was instructed by the mayor’s office to meet monthly with both organizations. But now, as F.I.R.E. vice-chair Wayne Luster noted at yesterday’s press conference, the black firefighters are no longer involved in the direction of the department, even though their membership accounts for nearly 45% of the department.

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So what is the real effect of this policy? Well, when the head of the mostly-white Local 73 was asked about the hanging monkey incident, he downplayed it and suggested there was no need for an investigation.

“[The monkey] was put on the coat rack because it was wet and it was drying,” Chris Molitor told the Post-Dispatch. As for the rope, he said it “has been attached to that coat rack for several years.”

This calls for some clarification.

First, the black firefighters organization, F.I.R.E., while not a recognized bargaining entity with the City of St. Louis, is still nonetheless clear on their mission: representing the interests of black firefighters. And like any good union, recognized or not, they push hard for the advancement of their members.

Local 73 on the other hand has long rejected its characterization as the “white firefighters union.” Its leaders say their mission is to represent all firefighters, regardless of color. However, history has not shown that to be the case. And this incident indicates that the professional needs and desires of African-American firemen and women are still not being represented by Local 73.

While Molitor and the people he represents believe that a hanging monkey means little, his African-American co-workers and his bosses (at least publicly) think it deserves serious investigation.

The fire chief and the public safety director told the media Tuesday that the department was taking the situation “very seriously.” Though, again, neither have talked to the black firefighters’ organization about it.

If Jenkerson, Bryson and Molitor think the fire department can be its best without communicating with the black firefighters organization, they are wrong. But they are not alone. This “blackout” started at the top.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay’s office — specifically his chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, and his communications director, Ed Rhode — continue to ignore St. Louis’ African-American press. No responses to inquires (the St. Louis American has not received a response in over a month). No press releases or notices of press conferences.

How long will the Slay Administration continue this “blackout”? And how long with the white press sit without comment and watch the disrespect of its African-American colleagues?

As a citywide elected official from a majority-black city, Mayor Slay actually has more black constituents than white. But that’s not how his administration sees it.

A white elected official recently told me how Slay’s chief of staff, Jeff Rainford, once suggested to him that he was wasting his time by attending meetings in north St. Louis.

“They’ll never vote for you anyway,” Rainford told this official.

Is that how we’re going to operate in this city? Elected officials only recognizing the importance of half their constituents?

Where’s the outrage among more of our white citizens — our white journalists, our white firefighters, our white elected officials?

I can only hope it is because they sincerely don’t know what’s going on.

I’d hate to think that you are OK with our city being divided as it is today by the people in Room 200.