All posts under Community Conversations
Afro World Hair and Fashion Co. in North St. Louis County began as a mail-order hair business in the 1970s. Today, it has grown to be a community hub of cultural pride. The doors at 7276 Natural Bridge Road are closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but they have kept going with a drive-up window, tent, […]
St. Anthony Food Pantry, in the basement of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church at 3130 Meramec Street, has been serving south St. Louis since 1991. Last year, the pantry served roughly 9,000 families. COVID-19 safety guidelines closed several food pantries in the spring, yet St. Anthony Food Pantry remained open. The pantry removed its […]
Growing up in the 1980s in North Saint Louis—an area with high rates of crime and poverty—Antajuan A. never imagined he would one day farm this area and that it would become a tool in a fight for social justice. New Roots Antajuan works part-time delivering plants to office spaces; this allows him to be at […]
Audrey uses her past struggles to shape the authentic person she is today—a mother of three, a certified peer recovery support specialist, a domestic violence crisis hotline operator, and a powerful advocate for opioid overdose prevention. Her story Drug addiction changed the canvas of Audrey’s life while in college in the late 1980s. Smoking marijuana […]
Matt T. has spent over 20 years examining how people think, particularly when it comes to race and ethnicity. Currently, he is an Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences and the Associate Dean For Faculty Affairs in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, with an interest in minority mental health. […]
Diego A. had been in his new professional role for only a few months when COVID-19 hit. He quickly found himself adjusting not only to being the President and CEO of Casa de Salud, but also to working from home with his wife and two young children. Diego has worked with programs designed to assist […]
Felice M. recognizes the struggles of the pandemic from multiple perspectives—she is the mother of two children at different life stages and the wife of a funeral home operator. As a full-time nonprofit and strategic communications consultant, Felice focuses on using her skills to help strengthen local systems of support. She advocates for conversation and action […]
Former Missouri State Representative Stacey Newman is currently the Executive Director and Founder of ProgressWomen, a statewide social justice organization focused on reproductive rights, gun violence, and civil justice. She had events and meetings planned throughout Missouri when everything shut down for COVID-19. “Our spring schedule was cut,” she says of the early days of the […]
With the arrival of COVID-19 in St. Louis County, Ebony E.’s opportunities as a professional actor evaporated, along with her part-time childcare position at a community center. In many ways, though, she considers herself lucky. She celebrated her 30th birthday during the shutdown, as well as the birthdays of her four daughters—six-year-old triplets and a […]
Sue Anne W. is a library assistant working from home in University City, MO. Due to the COVID-19 stay-at-home order, her son’s wedding has been postponed. She understands the necessity of social distancing and longs for the day when she can hug her son again. Grocery Shopping Sue Anne is frustrated with one aspect of […]