‘He just needed someone to point him in the right direction’ Mark Seymore grew up in a neighborhood that police have labeled as one of the highest crime areas in the region, around Page and Goodfellow boulevards in North St. Louis. “There wasn’t a lot of role models or anything positive to follow,” Seymore said. […]
“How’s the team going to be this year?” was one of the first questions I heard as I began my college career at a private predominantly white institution (PWI). To be fair, I am relatively tall, so I accommodated the query of the friendly white student. I said that the team would be great and […]
August 9, 2014 changed my life. That date is burned into our memory as the day Michael Brown was killed. But it’s also the date my son, King, turned 1. So we’re getting ready for his get-together – blowing up balloons, firing up the barbecue – when my social media starts going crazy. I get […]
Fifty years ago, a group of under-appreciated, underpaid black men who kept the city of Memphis healthy by purging its streets of waste, refuse and trash had to remind elected leaders and city fathers that they were indeed human. They held placards in public calling for basic dignity, stating simply “I Am A Man.” […]
Four years ago to the day of our publication date – on August 9, 2014 — a Ferguson police officer shot and killed an 18-year-old black male named Michael Brown. A grand jury convened by St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch considered whether this police officer, Darren Wilson, should be charged with a crime for […]
Policing and social trust Guest Columnists: Luther Tyus Humans are a social species. The need for trust is rooted in our DNA. In times of peril and uncertainty, trusting relationships provide a sense of security. Trust helps us to survive………
Humans are a social species. The need for trust is rooted in our DNA. In times of peril and uncertainty, trusting relationships provide a sense of security. Trust helps us to survive. In 2014, during the Ferguson unrest, I was a police officer in St. Louis, assigned to a special unit focusing on low-income housing […]
Editor’s Note: Luther O. Tyus is a graduate research assistant in the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, as well as an eight-year veteran of the St. Louis Police Department and a certified Peace Officer Standards and Training police instructor. The views expressed in this commentary are his own. The first time I almost killed a […]
In 2014, Luther Tyus was finishing his sixth year as an officer with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. He had become well known within the department, winning accolades like the Meritorious Service Citation and Citizen’s Service Award for his work to build trust between officers and local communities. He had organized a series of police-run events, such […]
HomeGrown STL rallying cry: ‘Build the village that raises the child’ By Jill Young Miller More than 120 people working to improve the lives of black boys and young men in St. Louis participated in the second annual HomeGrown STL Summit on February 8 at the Brown School of Social Work. “Build the village that […]
The Black Boys & Men: Changing the Narrative podcast series brings together thought leaders from the public and private sectors to analyze stereotypes and dispel myths concerning Black boys and men, while providing facts and best practices for those working with these often marginalized populations. The series calls into question issues of systemic racism and oppression and […]
A new study by Robert Motley Jr. a doctoral student and Sean Joe, the Benjamin E. Youngdahl Professor of Social Development at the Brown School of Washington University in St. Louis, examines the use of force by police officers when factors such as race, gender and income are taken into account. The researchers examined 2011 data […]
HomeGrown STL is close to putting its strategy for collective impact to work in St. Louis. The project, part of the Center for Social Development’s Race and Opportunity Lab, aims to support the social mobility of black boys and men between the ages of 12 and 29 in St. Louis City and County. “We want […]
A more comprehensive picture of mental health that includes subjective well-being and other positive mental health characteristics could lead to more successful educational experiences among black youth, finds a recent study from the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis. “We demonstrated the need to use a dual-factor model of mental health among adolescents […]
Forward Promise, a national grant-making program that supports the health of boys and young men of color, today announced the members of its National Advisory Committee (NAC). A diverse group of national leaders in the fields of health, education, youth advocacy, technology, psychology, business and philanthropy will guide Forward Promise in its efforts to help […]
The HomeGrown STL Inaugural Summit, February 9 at the Brown School, drew about 120 people committed to improving the lives of black boys and young men in St. Louis City and County. “Equity and economics are different sides of the same coin,” said Joe Reagan, president and CEO of the St. Louis Regional Chamber, in […]
Sean Joe developed Home Grown STL as a response to moving to St. Louis to take a faculty position at Washington University in August 2014 – the same month of the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown Jr. Home Grown STL is a research project that consists of networking events with local professionals to seek […]