MLK Day Events and Volunteer Opportunities

Sunday, January 17: 

The Missouri History Museum hosts the New Sunny Mount Missionary Baptist Gospel Choir at 2:30 in their auditorium.

Florissant Valley Community  College is holding a special program Realizing the Dream through Civic and Community Engagement at 3 PM in the Fischer Theatre with keynote speaker Gilberto Pinela.

Former Post-Dispatch Columnist Sylvester Brown will be speaking on "Defining a Racial Agenda in a 'Post-Racial' Society" at 3 PM at the Northminster Presbyterian Church, 1570 Chambers Road,Dellwood.

Monday, January 18:

The P-D Suburban Journals list a number of volunteer opportunities in St. Charles County from 8 AM to 8 PM.

The United Way is coordinating a number of service projects that begin at 9 AM, followed by lunch and dialogue from 1 to 3 PM. The facebook group is here.

Student United Way at Harris Stowe will be volunteering at Dunbar Elementary School (1415 N. Garrison) from 9 AM to noon.

Christ Church Cathedral will be holding a Community Read-In in Honor of Dr. King from 9 AM to 5 PM.

The annual observance in St. Louis City begins with a ceremony at 10 AM followed by a march at 11:30.  Many local groups will be there, including the Instead of War Coalition.  This will be followed by performances at the Powell Symphony Hall.

UMSL has am MLK Observance at the Touhill at 10 AM featuring keynote speaker Jabari Asim and lunch at 11, followed by a service projects until 5 PM.

The SLU Campus Kitchen and The Mission Continues are hosting a canned food drive from 10 AM to noon at Dematt Hall on the campus and are looking for extra volunteers.

SSM St. Joseph Health Center is having a remembrance from 11 AM to 1 PM in the St. Charles room of the hospital.

The Royale is hosting a benefit including matching donations for Haiti starting at 11:30 AM.

Saint Louis University is hosting a Seeds of Courage presentation in honor of Dr. King at noon in the chapel of SLU hospital.

Lindenwood University is hosting a ceremony in honor of Dr. King at 12:30 in the third floor atrium of the Spellman Center on the main campus.

The Urban Studio Cafe is hosting a philosophical discussion of Civil Disobedience from 6:30 to 7:30.

Washington University will host their annual observance in Graham Chapel at 7 PM, followed by a reception at 8:30. 

Mustard Seed Theatre at Fontbonne is performing "Shame the Devil" about abolitionist, actress, wife and mother Fanny Kemble at 7 PM.

Wednesday, Jan. 20:

 

The Covenant House will host the Jewish Community MLK Celebration from noon to 1 PM.  They are asking people to bring canned food donations.

Saturday, January 23:

The Society of Black Student Social Workers at Washington University are hosting a "Financial Freedom Seminar: Tying Loose Ends-Becoming Financially Secure" from 8 AM to 3 PM.

Haiti

Absolute devastation there as a result of a massive earthquake.  Huffington Post has a really good stream of updated news.  The Riverfront Times has a list of planned benefits for Haiti in the St. Louis area and I believe will be updating it as more are planned.  Finally, the Washington Post has listed many ways people can help out.  Feel free to suggest your own in the comments.

St. Louis Activist Events for Jan 12-18

This Week's Events:

Tags used in this post: #race exhibit #MLK Day #lgbt #human rights #environment #animal welfare #education #peace #community #legal reform #arts

Tuesday, Jan. 12, the Missouri History Museum, in anticipation of their major exhibit Race: Are We So Different?, will be screening the movie "Long Story Short" at noon. #race exhibit

Also Tuesday, from 2 to 7 PM there will be an open house at the SAGE (Services and Advocacy for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Elders) Metro St. Louis Center, located at 2710 S. Grand. #lgbt

Also Tuesday, Amnesty International is having their monthly business meeting from 7 to 8:30 at Bethel Lutheran Church (7001 Forsyth). #human rights

Also Tuesday, 1SKy is asking you to take 5 minutes to call your Senators and ask them to support climate legislation for green jobs, the climate, and our future. #environment

Also Tuesday, the St. Louis Animal Rights Team (START) is having their monthly meeting at7 PM at the Brentwood Community Center (2505 S. Brentwood). They will be discussing the upcoming ballot initiative campaign to end cruelty at Missouri puppy mills. #animal welfare

Also Tuesday, the elected Saint Louis Board of Education will be having a board meeting with a presentation from Dr. Sullivan-Brown on the "Best System of School Governance" at 7 PM at Carr Lane School (1004 N. Jefferson). #education

Also Tuesday, Veterans for Peace local chapter 61 is presenting "Rethink Afghanistan" at the Schlafly Tap Room (2100 Locust) at 8 PM. #peace

Wednesday, Jan 13, Urban Eats Cafe (3301 Meramec) is hosting a Well-Read Wednesday discussion with A Broken Mirror author John Rolens at 6 PM. #community

Also Wednesday, the Urban League Young Professionals of Metropolian St. Louis are meeting from 6 to 8 PM at the Boeing Company, Building 100 Auditorium (Airport Rd. and McDonnel Blvd., Berkeley, MO). #community

Also Wednesday, Schlafly and RFT are sponsoring a monthly Saint Louis Neighborhood tour, focused primarily on bars. This week's tour focuses on Maplewood and starts at 7 PM. #community

Also Wednesday, the LGBT Community Center of Metropolitan St. Louis is hosting a Transgender Community Issues Discussion Forum at 7 PM. #lgbt

Thursday, January 14, Drinking Liberally of St. Louis City is meeting at the Premium Lounge (4199 Manchester) from 6:30 to 9:30. #community

Also Thursday, author Stephan Schwab discusses his book Guantanamo, USA at Left Bank Book's downtown location (321 N. 10th) at 7 PM. #human rights

Also Thursday, the Missouri Coalition for the Environment is hosting Big River, from the guys who made "King Corn", about the environmental effects of corn on the waterways.  The movie screens at 7 PM at the Tivoli and will be followed by a panel discussion by Executive Director Kat Logan Smith, Law & Policy Coordinator Caroline Ishida, and Youth Partnership Executive Director Maggie Menefee.  #environment

Also Thursday, the monthly meeting of St. Louis NORML is from 7:15 to 8:30 at Mokabe's Coffee House (Arsenal and Grand). #legal reform

Also Thursday, the team that sent a bus to the National Equality March in D.C. is hosting a 10,000 for Charity Benefit Show at Nancy's Place (4510 Manchester) from 8 to 11 PM #lgbt

Friday, January 15, Active Citizen 360 is providing pizza and screening political thriller "The Interpreter" at the Civitas HQ (10845 Olive, Suite 155) from 6 to 9:30 PM.

Saturday, January 16 is the grand opening of the major Race: Are We So Different exhibition a the Missouri History Musem.  You can read the Post-Dispatch's write-up of the exhibition here.  In conjunction with the exhibit UMSL Professor Dr. Jackie Lewis Harris will be speaking about of the anthropology related to the exhibit at 2 PM.  There will also be a theatrical production Race to the Finish at 3 PM at the Museum. #race exhibit

Also Saturday, there will be a fundraiser for the community arts center SCOSAG at the Tin Can Tavern (1909 Locust) starting at 6 PM. #arts

Sunday, Jan 17, Mic the People for the People and TOCO Charity Open Mic at Off Broadway (3509 Lemp) from 2 to 6 PM will raise money from Tapestry of Community Offerings and the Community Arts and Media Project. #arts #community

Also Sunday, The Missouri History Museum is hosting a Musical Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at 2:30 PM. #race exhibit #MLK Day

Also Sunday, there will be the third installment of the NOH8 Photoshoot at Nancy's Place (4510 Manchester Ave.), from 7 to 11 PM. #lgbt

Also Sunday, the Instead of War Coalition will hold a vigil for peace at College Church on the corner of Lindell and Grand. #peace

Monday, Jan. 18, as has been said many times, Martin Luther King Jr. Day should be a "day on," not a "day off."  Come participate in the annuel gathering and march downtown.  Join the presentation at the Old Courthouse at 10 AM and/or the March starting at 11 AM.  The Instead of War Coalition and many other community groups will be there.  And please check out this list of possible volunteer opportunities. Washington University will also host a commemoration later from 7 to 9 PM. #MLK Day

St. Louis Blog Posts From the Past Week

St. Louis has a variety of great blogs from progressive viewpoints, but unfortunately many of those blogs are isolated in their own little corner of cyberspace, and we don't do a great job interacting with each other (with the definite exception of the urban planning blogs who have an amazing online community). To a large extent, I think this serves as a disincentive for progressives and activists to start blogging in St. Louis, since it can take a long time to build up enough of a following to feel like you're having a conversation rather than talking to the wind. So, in order to do my small part, I'm posting some interesting blog posts from the past week to try to get people more familiar with the St. Louis blogging community. I'm sure I missed some great posts, so please feel free to post your own favorite blog posts from the St. Louis area in the past week.

Blog Posts from the Past Week:

(in no particular order)

• Former Post-Dispatch columnist Sylvester Brown offered his perspective on the Obama administration one year later.
• Jim Zavist discussed the crime-prevention vs energy conservation considerations that arise from streetlights on the Urban Review Blog.
• Eric Vieth at Dangerous Intersection is critical of the new Highway 40/I-64 design for failing to leave room for bicycle paths or future metrolink expansions. He also reviewed the recent movie Food, Inc.
• Ryan Witt at the Examiner does a great job with frequently updated news and analysis from a progressive perspective.
• Patricia at Write2BeHeard updated people on the Gaza March.
• Mike Baldwin at Viaticum discusses how you can help the homeless in the cold.
• Devilstower at DailyKos (a St. Louis area resident) explained how "the naughts" were a trial of conservative ideology, and the results clearly showed that the ideology is flawed. Later in the week, he wrote about the destructive consequences of mountaintop coal removal in "It's only Appalachia."
• Next Stop STL discussed the opening of the Vandenter Bridge and also discussed how Metro responds to heavy snowstorms.
• Michael Allen at Ecology of Absence wrote about Accomplishments an Opportunities in St. Louis Place. He also advocated for slowing down the process in Paul McKee's bid to massively redevelop Northside.
• Dave at the Arch City Chronicle broke news that Don Calloway was considering jumping into the State Senate 14 primary .
• Shark Fu questioned whether reports that there is "nothing wrong" with Rush Limbaugh's heart could possibly be correct. She also was not-so-patiently waiting for the "defenders of the sacred institution of marraige" to start getting upset about recent developments around divorce rates.
• Lois at The Curios Kitchen laments the superficial state of the modern mall.
• Hotflash at Show Me Progress gave an example of the often overlooked value of having competent technocrats in the Obama administration, as opposed to the Heckuva Job Brownies we were stuck with in previous years. She also examined Mountain Top Removal of Coal.
• And WillyK, also at Show Me Progress, discusses the fiscal irresponsibility of Republicans.
• Finally, Byron DeLear at SMP wrote a diary with a very positive assessment of the recent movie Avatar.
• Crazy Drum Guy had some fun with Steele's announcement that the GOP "might not be ready to lead" and weak attempts by Republicans to criticize Obama over use of the word "terrorism."
• Alex at the Saint Louis Urban Workshop wrote about how Walmart, TIF, and Musical Chair Development may devastate St. Ann.
• The St. Louis Social Media Report wrote up a post about the death of a St. Louis blogger thought to have invented the term "blogosphere."
• Paul at Vanishing STL examines the space reuse experiment known at Crestwood Court.
• Colin Murphy at Vital Voice kicks off a new series honoring local LGBT icons.
• The Vegan Thyme blog offers a steady stream of delicious vegan recipes.
• Rick at STL Rising discusses the idea of opening up parts of the city so that they are more connected to the river.
• Chris at St. Louis Patina offers beautiful pictures of the urban landscape in St. Louis (and the places he visits).
• Finally, Nicholas Phillips at the RFT describes the recent legal threats by coal companies against local activist Brian DeSmet who created a satirical website mocking the PR term "clean coal."

There were also some interesting opinions by the St. Louis editorial board on the subjects of coal-fired power plants, the death penalty, and some of the proposed taxes in the health care bills.

Interview: Gladney says he Took McCowan Down

I stumbled across an amazing interview yesterday. In the interview, this is what Tea Party hero Kenneth Gladney had to say:

One of them tried to take a couple of them away, then when I took them back, they got all pushy with me. So I took the guy [reverend] down, and the others shoved me to the ground and started kicking me in the head.

If Gladney "took down" McCowan, I don't see how charges can legitimately be filed against McCowan. Of course, I'm also skeptical about the claim that others were "kicking him in the head," considering that there is no evidence of this in the original video.

St. Louis Activist Events for Jan 4-10

This week's events:

Tags used in this post: #PEACE #COMMUNITY #LGBT #ENVIRONMENT #URRBANISM #ART #INTERNATIONAL

Monday, January 4, the St. Louis Instead of War coalition holds their monthly meeting at the World Community Center (438 N. Skinker) at 7 PM. #PEACE

Tuesday, January 5, the St. Louis Women's Chorus CHARIS is wrapping up their 17th season and inviting people to sing with them. The event is from 7 to 9:30 PM at the First Divine Science Church, 3617 Wyoming Street. #COMMUNITY

Also Tuesday, West County Drinking Liberally will be meeting from 7 to 9 PM at th Branica Wine Bar (451 S. Kirkwood Rd). #COMMUNITY

Wednesday, January 6, the First Wednesday Lunch meeting for local progressives will be at 4909 Delmar from 11:30 to 1:30. #COMMUNITY

Also Wednesday, the St. Louis Gender Youth Group is meeting from 7 to 10PM at the SPOT (4169 Laclede). #LGBT

Also Wednesday, Vital VOICE Magazine is celebrating the launch of their new magazine at the SOL Nighclub (4239 Lindell) from 7 to 10 PM. #LGBT

Also Wednesday, the Interfaith Committee on Latin America is holding a followup meeting to the annual trek down to the School of the Americas. The event will be at the St. Louis University High School (on Oakland just West of Kingsbury) at 7 PM. #INTERNATIONAL

Also Wednesday, the Gateway Green Alliance and the Universal African People's Organization are holding a Black and Green Wednesday discussion of Farm to Cafeteria: Kids, Gardens, Schools at 7 PM at Legacy Books and Cafe (5429 Delmar). #ENVIRONMENT

CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER:Thursday, January 7, before the counter-protest of Fred Phelp's Hate Cult at Lady Gaga's concert, there's going to be a counter-protest of Phelp's Hate Cult at Parkway North High School (12860 Fee Fee Rd) from 2:15 to 3:15. #LGBT

Also Thursday, THE media event of the week for sure will be a huge counterprotest of the Fred Phelp's Cult, a group that travels around the country holding "God Hates Fags" signs, sometimes even at soldier's funerals. The Phelps group decided to hold their protest outside of the Lady Gaga concert at the Fox Theatre (527 N. Grand), and there will be an extremely fun counterprotest outside. A couple of the the creative tactics being used by counterprotesters: having a kiss-in in front of the Phelps clan and having a "Phelp-Look-A-Like Protest". The madness starts at 6 PM. #LGBT

Also Thursday, the Interfaith Committee on Latin America will be having dinner and discussing an upcoming accompaniment and action for Honduras at 7 PM at 6922 Manchester Rd . #INTERNATIONAL

Also Thursday, there will be a very interesting discussion of the role of Web-Based Advocacy in St. Louis at the Urban Eats Cafe (3301 Meramec Aveneu) from 7:30 to 9 PM sponsored by St. Louis City Affair. #COMMUNITY #URRBANISM

Thursday through Saturday, "Love! Valour! Compassion!" shows at the Kranzberg Arts Center (501 N. Grand). #LGBT #ART

Friday, January 8, apparently the Phelps family decided to terrorize one more school before they left town, and Show Me No Hate will steadfastly be there to counterprotest them again. The counterprotest will be from 7 to 8 AM at Parkway South High School (801 Hanna Rd.) #LGBT

Friday through Sunday, Playback Workshop Theatre's new performance "Homegrown" about racism in St. Louis will be debuting at the Phyllis Wheatley Heritage Center (2711 Locust). #RACE #ART

Saturday, January 9, The International Institute of St. Louis (3654 S. Grand) is holding their Annual Children's Holiday Party from 10 AM to 3 PM and is still looking for some volunteers to help out. #INTERNATIONAL

Also Saturday, Lesbian comedian Steph Hoth will be performing at Nancy's Place, 4510 Manchester, from 9 to 11 PM. #LGBT

Also Saturday, NOH8 will be having their 2nd St. Louis Photo Shoot at the Manchester Underground Dance party (3960 Chouteau) from 9 PM to midnight. #LGBT #ART

Sunday, January 10, the weekly Vigil for Peace will be at College Church on the corner of Grand and Lindell at 7 PM. #PEACE

It's Official! St. Louis Tea Party Now Thinks Your Dogcatcher is Involved in Massive Government Conspiracy

If you've been following the Kenneth Gladney saga closely, you will recall that according to the St. Louis Tea Party, President Obama, Health Care for America Now, SEIU, the AFL-CIO, Russ Carnahan, David Axelrod, and Kathleen Sebelius all ordered "thugs" to attend an August 6 Town Hall meeting to attack random people selling political merchandise.  Of course, as I've pointed out several times since then, the video of the event doesn't show anyone being "severely beaten" as the tea partiers claim, and the only witnesses who say that Gladney was assaulted have questionable backgrounds.  Anyway, to continue with the tea party narrative, they then believe that after this massive government conspiracy to attack a random person occured, there was another massive government conspiracy to delay and demote the charges against the "thugs" perpetuated by St. Louis County Counselor Patricia Reddington, St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCullough, County Executive Charlie Dooley, and the St. Louis County Council.  In the process of inventing this ridiculous story, several of the local tea party members have libeled county officials, and have refused to apologize even after their charges were proven to be completely false.

Well, this stellar conspiracy theory has now achieved a new, amazing landmark: the St. Louis Tea Party is now claiming that your local dogcatcher is involved in the massive government conspiracy!  Here's why: a few days before Christmas, Keith Gladney, the brother of Kenneth, was fired from his position at the Animal Control.  The Tea Party alleges that this is a clear case of political retaliation.  Their evidence?  The fact that the Animal Control Department operates within the St. Louis County Department of Health, which is "reported to have a close working relationship with SEIU Local 1."  According to Tea Party "logic," SEIU is the most evil criminal enterprise of all time, so anyone who can be linked to them in six degrees of separation or less should be automatically thrown in prison.  And, of course, we're supposed to "take Jim Durbin's word" that the situation is very "suspicious."  Jim Durbin, the guy known for questionable mental stability, who has refused to apologize after spreading blatant damaging falsehoods about the County Counselor, who personally attacks local reporters without any shred of evidence or ability to back up his claims, and who has claimed that the mission of the St. Louis Tea Party is to, "crush the monsters that steal our land and rob our people."   Yeah, you should take his word for it.

Also noteworthy is the fact that the Tea Party is raising money for the Gladney brothers.  Literally within a few days of the original altercation on August 6th, the tea party began raising money for Kenneth Gladney.  In my opinion, Gladney's testimony is tainted by the fact that he has been receiving money from a group with a clear ideological axe to grind from Day One.  Recall that Gladney's former "attorney," David Brown, the man largely responsible for turning this into a media spectacle, stated in the past that this incident was his "gravy train."   Funny, by the way, the the tea party refuses to talk about David Brown lately.

I don't wish getting fired upon anyone, especially in today's economy, and I'm sorry that Keith Gladney lost his job right before Christmas.  But the knee-jerk reflexive conspiracy theory reactions have gone well beyond the point of ridiculousness.  I really hope some of the groups and individuals maliciously attacked by the St. Louis Tea Party start fighting back by publicly calling out just how absurd the Tea Party rhetoric is.