Speak Up St. Louis

Sara Burke is recognized as a Woman of Achievement. First as a dancer in East St. Louis with The Dunham Company and then as a working artist in St. Louis, she has fostered inclusiveness in the arts and provided numerous opportunities to minorities and those in underserved communities.

Jorge is a non-profit management professional who, for the last three years, has led Delmar Divine, a transformative project in North St. Louis City that provides shared space and myriad capacity building tools to 33 nonprofit organizations that collectively serve over 250,000 in the St. Louis MSA. He began his nonprofit career as CEO of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Metro St. Louis which, during his tenure, increased membership and revenue by 40% and spearheaded growth of Hispanic business in the St. Louis metro area.

Tyrell Manning is a public health specialist working to end the HIV epidemic. Appointed by St. Louis City mayor Tishaura Jones, Manning is an active member of the LGBTQIA Advisory Board in pursuit of bringing the LGBTQIA+ communities and the larger St. Louis community together through long-range projects. Additionally, he was a regional integration specialist and site coordinator of Rustin’s Place for Williams & Associates, a health-education and disease-prevention center addressing the health disparities in the St. Louis region.

Lois Conley is the Founder/President and CEO of the Griot Museum of Black History. She has dedicated many years toward researching African-American history, with particular emphasis on the Underground Railroad and Westward Expansion. Conley consulted for the Royal Tropical Museum in Amsterdam for its exhibition on slavery, was a member of the Neighborhood Leadership Team for St. Louis’ 5th Ward Sustainable Neighborhood Project, has served on grant review panels for the Missouri Arts Council, St. Louis Regional Arts Commission and United Way, and was a founding member of the St. Louis Mid-Size Arts Collaborative.

Ashley Winters is a St. Louis native reporting for the St. Louis American, covering news impacting African Americans in the St. Louis metro area which includes education, business and entertainment. She is a two-time award recipient of the Excellence in Poverty Journalism Award and in 2019 she published her first children’s book, called Memories Of A Bunny Rabbit, and received a Mission Attempt award. Winters has volunteered for the St. Louis City School District teaching fourth- through sixth-graders journalism, showing the importance of Black voices, and telling stories about our communities.

Welcome back to the Speak Up St. Louis Podcast as it launches season 2! Quinton Ward (Co-creator/Host), Tré Alexander (Executive Producer), and Michelle Dezember lay the ground-work for the upcoming season, sharing their thoughts and hopes for St. Louis. Thank you for listening!

Mark Saxon is a local baseball writer who covers the St. Louis Cardinals. He's worked for decades in the industry as a beat reporter with organizations such as The Athletic and ESPN, and is a frequent contributor on local sports radio.

Mark joins the podcast to have a "meta" discussion about Cardinals Baseball. Beyond just the day-to-day tactics of the team, Mark outlines the history of the franchise, and the nature of it's uniquely close relationship to the St. Louis fan base. We also talk about the state of the game of Baseball as a whole, and how it compares to other sports in the American psyche.

Mark Saxon is one of the most insightful and FUN baseball commentators out there, and we thank him for sharing his thoughts with the Speak  Up St. Louis listeners!

Follow Mark on Twitter @markasaxon

KYJUAN is a rapper from the legendary Hip-Hop group the St. Lunatics!

Hailing from U-City, KYJUAN and his brother Murphy Lee made it HUGE in the music industry, and put St. Louis on the map for hip-hop internationally.

On the podcast, Kyjuan tells the legendary story of how  he met Nelly and the Lunatics were formed, recording early songs at Saints roller rink, what is was like to blow up on Country Grammar, advice for navigating the business side of the industry, and the INDEPENDENT release of Murphy Lee's new album 2nd Time Around, featuring a track with Kyjuan.

This may be my favorite episode so far! Kyjuan is a legend and personal hero of the podcast.

BUY THE NEW ALBUM HERE!

INTRO - 93 Riverfront Flow
OUTRO - 2nd Time Around

Katie Finch is the Director of AmeriCorps at Mission St. Louis, and oversees 150 AmeriCorps service members across 30 nonprofits in our region. As a result, Katie has her finger on the pulse of the St. Louis nonprofit ecosystem.

In this episode, Katie joins us to discuss the AmeriCorps program: it's purpose, history, and impact on the St. Louis region. She also tells the story of her journey into service, and shares her optimistic view towards St. Louis, and our ability to solve the problems we face in our community.

Katie is a passionate and dedicated servant of St. Louis, and we thank her for sharing her story on Speak Up St. Louis!

https://www.americorpsstl.org/

https://www.missionstl.org/

https://my.americorps.gov/

Jeffrey Blair (and his wife Pamela)  are the owners and founders of EyeSeeMe African American Children's Bookstore. While raising children of their own, they sought to change a key problem with their education: the absence of books that reflected their own history and cultural heritage.

Jeffrey and Pamela began curating books that featured African American children as main characters, so they could SEE themselves in the stories, protagonists, and overall narratives. Not surprisingly, their children became incredibly high achievers, attending Harvard, Columbia, and Bard colleges.

Seeing the success that these books brought to their own family, Jeffery and Pamela started EyeSeeMe African American Children's Bookstore to bring it to the larger community. Their store in University City features thousands of titles by black authors, featuring black children, and accentuating African American history and culture.

On this episode, Jeffrey discusses his family's journey of discovery, philosophy towards education, role of books in cultural life, and the founding of the business.

Please visit the EyeSeeMe bookstore located at 6951 Olive Blvd in University City, and browse their WEBSITE to look at their many books and titles.

Thank you to Jeffrey and Pamela for sharing their WONDERFUL bookstore, and philosophy, with the St. Louis community and beyond. We appreciate and support you!