By Antonio D. French
Filed Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 7:06 AM
Mayor Francis Slay's words were drowned out yesterday by the boos and protests of his opponents. Labels: Fire_Dept, Francis_Slay, Recall
Slay was trying to deliver a speech at the Old Courthouse during a ceremony honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As soon as the mayor was introduced, protesters began to shout and wave signs. Former fire chief Sherman George, whose demotion by Slay helped spark this fiery political backlash, tried to calm down the crowd down, but to no avail.
These videos are from people in the audience. The video quality is pretty low, but you can clearly hear what happened.
Last week members of the effort to recall Slay warned organizers of the MLK event that there would be problems if Slay was allowed to speak.
After Slay was booed off stage, he stormed out of the Old Courthouse and did not participate in the traditional march or ceremonies afterwards.
61 Comments:
What an embarrassment to our city and the memory of Dr. King. I am saddened that a day of unity was marred with this display. I do think that the protesters have a right and obligation to be heard, but once their message was clearly received by the mayor and all of us there, they should have shown more respect for the day and let the mayor be heard.
Of what little I was able to hear of Slays comments, they seemed to strike a note on conciliation and peace. I think this whole episode is now beginning to seem more about the Baruttis, Shadids and Nasheeds of our city stirring for stirrings sake. What is their end game? Do they want an end or do they just enjoy too much the “glory”? I don’t know, but as one citizen I think it is time to move forward.
As I walked out of the courthouse yesterday I was met by enthusiastic supporters (black and white) for Senator Obama. And I was struck by the optimistic tone and general light that came from this group; it was a stark difference from the intolerance and old school that I saw demonstrated by the hecklers inside that courthouse.
As one liberal, white, and resident of this city – I was saddened and disappointed by what happened on the inside of the courthouse yesterday, but what I experienced outside gives me hope that forty years after Dr. King gave his life to make us a better people that we are moving toward that goal.
1/22/2008 7:54 AM
SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!! SLAY MUST GO!!!
1/22/2008 8:11 AM
This is really embarrassing for the black community. What's next pissing in trash cans???
No matter how pissed off the black community is, white people still don't understand what the problem is and DO NOT empathize over the sherman george situation.
This group is on the verge of setting back race relations 50 years. the most important people to convince in racial tensions are not black, they are white. MLK was able to get white people to empathize and understand the plight of African-Americans in the 60s and join the struggle, which is why things changed.
This gang isn't making any friends, and why this latest classless demonstration is appalling.
1/22/2008 9:10 AM
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1/22/2008 9:19 AM
Sad and embarrassing.
After yesterday I cannot support the recall. I had be questioning it more and more lately but after that horrible disrespect for Dr. King I cannot and will not support this "movement".
I now see this is no movement at all. This is nothing more than an attention grab by Baruti, Nasheed and Vickers.
Sad.
1/22/2008 9:37 AM
A sad day for STL. Displays such as this only drive reasonable people of all races away from the table.
Shame on them for disgracing Dr. King's day with their lack of self control.
1/22/2008 9:39 AM
I agree, I can no longer support the recall
1/22/2008 9:42 AM
The protesters lack of self control is evidenced by their criminal records
1/22/2008 9:45 AM
"This was an organized effort to try to hijack this event for political purposes."
1/22/2008 9:52 AM
This won't help African Americans in St. Louis.
1/22/2008 9:57 AM
What I think is sad and embarrassing is that you want to co-opt Dr. King's message into a Micky Mouse story of "let's all get along." Dr. King spoke truth to power, and took controversial stances in his later life against war and the causes of poverty that pissed off the status quo even in the civil rights movement. If you disagree with the Slay action, fine, but don't try to hide behind the hapsy-wapsy tale of MLK presented by the mainstream media.
As someone who is not involved in the recall effort, I thought the action was amazing and was a rare case of the mainstream media (and hence the public) having to acknowledge that something big is going on in St. Louis that isn't coming from the traditional power-brokers.
1/22/2008 10:01 AM
I also cannot support this recall. As an African American this is a disgrace, and will do nothing but harm the fragile racial relations we have in this city. The recallers have disrespected Dr. King and all he stood for.
1/22/2008 10:03 AM
I also cannot support this recall. As an African American this is a disgrace, and will do nothing but harm the fragile racial relations we have in this city. The recallers have disrespected Dr. King and all he stood for.
1/22/2008 10:07 AM
Anthony Shahid has so many judgements against him he needs to go out and make some money. It is no wonder that he and E Vickers are always in the same place. A sherrif serving papers would have had a field day with this group.
They need to work on personal responsibility before the worry about the mayor.
I can no longer even consider participating in the recall effort.
1/22/2008 10:20 AM
1/22 9:10--
Don't pretend you can speak for all whites. I'm white and I, even if I wouldn't have done things quite the same way, can see the point of view of the protesters just fine.
1/22/2008 10:26 AM
Adam from Wash U is confused.
What made MLK great was that he was a leader of both blacks and whites. That's why he was so successful in substantially advancing civil rights in America. There are dozens of black leaders who have spoken truth to power and taken controversial stances, but very few have been successful in teaching whites the morality and value of equality for all Americans. MLK was able to do this.
Yesterday's protest was full of hate. And the only thing it will produce is more hate (and perhaps another 4 years for Slay).
1/22/2008 10:42 AM
The real disgrace is not what happened during the celebration!
Dr. King was about service. Why is it that F.I.R.E. has not stepped up to help the family in North St. Louis who has to recover from 2 children having brain surgery behind the vehicle incident over a week ago? The local fireman's union has offered their services to help this family.
I am more than ready for Slay to go for enough reasons including those I had when he was first elected.
However, protestants don't change situations, legislation does. While the people are marching and speaking, the legislative bodies are changing the rules of engagement to suit their needs.
As far as people suddenly siding with MLK, that's fraganacle bull! The civil rights issues got passed due to media exposure, the death of JFK, which sent the country into mourning, and an epiphany on the part of white corporate amerikkka. The rights of integration and other backward advances have crippled the economics of the black community and created a new permanent class of consumers who enhance the gross national product, but take none of the financial resources back to their community.
If anyone wants to better the African American community, charity begins at home. There is a family that will never be the same who needs assistance, not ASSistants! There is a lot of distance between Riverview and Delor and the community needs to get off of their ASSets and take care of home!
1/22/2008 10:51 AM
Anon 10:42,
You choose to see it as full of hate, because you are already biased against the protesters. But the protesters themselves don't see it that way. In fact, I was at an event just last night where one of the organizers said that the chanting was in a profound way an act of love, because they were telling Slay the truth.
This is so typical of the reaction of established power. People talk about race, poverty, war, and they are completely ignored. Once they do something that actually gets attention, the defenders of the status then act shocked at the protesters lack of good manners. "How could we possibly listen to somebody who eats their main course with a salad fork???"
1/22/2008 10:58 AM
Adam, if you don't think that protest was full of hate, then I'm afraid you're a bit naive, and perhaps even a bit dishonest intellectually. This is about jobs, money, and power.
Adam wrote: "I was at an event just last night where one of the organizers said that the chanting was in a profound way an act of love, because they were telling Slay the truth." I'm sorry but this statement doesn't make any sense.
1/22/2008 11:25 AM
That damn Slay received the treatment he deserves for his disrespect of the majority populace in St. Louis city! NO JUSTICE! NO PEACE!
1/22/2008 11:52 AM
Vickers, er I mean Adam, we all know that hate can be blinding.
Too bad, yesterday should have shown how we all can work together not the hateful spew that we all saw.
1/22/2008 11:54 AM
Slay direpected the majority populace? I thought he allowed Bryson to do his job by disiplining an employee who refused to do his. How did the liberal post phrase it yesterday??? Sherman George was recalcitrant!
It's about jobs power and money??
Shahid and Vickers ought to get a job and then they will have some money, so I guess it's down to being about more power isn't it.
The public schools use to hand feed Shahid and his buddies painting contracts only to have to finish them up themselves or through the bonding company.
1/22/2008 12:24 PM
I am not so sure Slay got exactly what he deserved---I get the feeling he got exactly what he wanted.
This will help him in his re-election bid----but surely to God----it will make him persona non grata to the Clinton campaign. What an embarrassment he must be to them.
1/22/2008 12:33 PM
Slay is getting a lot of attention outside of the St. Louis City limits. Many are enthused that he is becoming known for not knuckling under to special interest groups and standing firmly against what may be concieved as pandering.
It is rumored that he may be us democrats best hope for recapturing the governors job.
1/22/2008 12:39 PM
Slay for Governor? What a good idea. He is surley getting a lot of press! He may end up thanking the protesters.
1/22/2008 12:41 PM
Not knuckling under to special interest groups. Interesting way to look at it. He is a public servant and serves at the will of the people. How does choosing to ignore the issues important to a large group of your constituents make one a good public servant?
And to say this is just a small group is a disingenuous answer. A "silent majority" is an unprovable allegation.
1/22/2008 12:47 PM
I didn't say "small group"......you did
I didn't say "silent majority"....you did
It's been fun chatting, I have to go back to work, but I'll log in later
1/22/2008 12:56 PM
I would think that if the recall group wants to be taken seriously, they would choose leaders, or spokespeople free of records of criminal activity or financial irresponsiblity.
Yelling and screaming at an event to honor Dr. King makes them look like a bunch of irrational idiots. This is why I can understand so many people turning a deaf ear on their concerns
In the big picture this does seem to be a small group, at least to me.
Raise the bar and I think you will be taken more seriously
1/22/2008 1:07 PM
There are those who would deny the right to protest
1/22/2008 1:22 PM
I have walked in the MLK Parade
year after year and heard speech
after speech (orignially in
Christ Church Cathedral.
I was proud of the number of
participants (of every color)
and that they voiced their
displeasure with the misguided
politico. Non-violent civil disobedience in the face of politicians who dismantle public education and who arrange the demotion of a highly qualified Fire Chief is the right
thing to do. To call it hate is is a corruption of language.
I love this city that is why
I must support the recall of
Francis Slay.
1/22/2008 1:40 PM
Above Anon wrote: "To call it hate is is a corruption of language.
I love this city that is why
I must support the recall of
Francis Slay."
Nope. It's definitely hate. Slay has been turned into a catch-all boogeyman.
1/22/2008 1:53 PM
I will never support the recall after the display put on yesterday! What an insult to Dr. King.
And the KKK get up; get real asshole; you alone managed to damage the recall effort. what a dummy (as fred sanford would say!)
1/22/2008 1:56 PM
White people outside of St. Louis and its suburbs regard Slay as a buffoon. If they want a republican governor, they will vote for the real thing---not a phony imitation republican like Slay.
Wouldn't it be ironic for the Clinton campaign if the only thing Slay's jump on the early bandwagon endorsement of her provided enough backlash to give Obama or Edwards a victory in the primary?
1/22/2008 1:58 PM
I personally am skeptical about all of the anonymous comments acting like they used to support the recall but now don't. I think the "anonymous" option makes it all too easy for people to try to manipulate this forum as a way of trying to get the recallers to change their tactics (which made a huge splash yesterday).
But if there really were people who were in favor of the recall but now aren't because protesters were "impolite," then I think it is safe to say that those people would not have been much use to the movement anyway.
The reality is that people tried to politely ask Slay for acknowledgment and he ignored them. Like many other people in power, Slay will only respond to a show of power, and that is exactly what was demonstrated yesterday. The fact that working-class people who are not part of the establishment were able to exert real power is precisely what scares so many people on this blog and elsewhere.
They want to claim that what was expressed was "hate," but what was really expressed was power, and that has a lot of people shaking in their well-polished boots.
1/22/2008 2:33 PM
To above Anon. I think you're right about all the "reformed" recallers. Still, I don't think the recall is going to get very far. And I think yesterday's fiasco is going to galvanize Slay's base. If you listen to any of the radio shows, it's 10 to 1 against the protestors. The online polls are even more lopsided.
1/22/2008 2:53 PM
Funny that your post condeming anonymous posts was done anonymously! This was not an expression of power. It was an expression of a lack of power. A first grader can disrupt class. It just makes you rude and turns reasonable people away from your message.
1/22/2008 3:04 PM
Who should get my vote in the 2009 mayoral election?
Right now, the only candidate running is Francis Slay. I'd like another option, but I see exactly NONE. Who's going to run?
1/22/2008 3:20 PM
Shouting down Slay was a tactical blunder. It turned off whites who had grown tired of Slay (e.g., some supporters of former aldermanic prez Jim Shrewsbury who resented Slay’s perceived behind the scenes maneuvering for Lewis Reed) and who might have voted for recall (if enough signatures are collected, which is doubtful) and voted for a 2009 challenger to Slay. And several comments above (if authentic) suggest that it turned many blacks off as well. Occurring as it did in the context of the spiraling racial tensions between Clinton and Obama camps, the shoutdown of Slay by a predominantly black crowd drove a new wedge between city blacks and the erstwhile sympathetic whites that they need to succeed. Advantage: Slay.
Other collateral damage: Sensitive whites who might have previously supported a black for the 5th District senate seat have now been driven into Tom Villa's camp. Kiss city black representation in the state senate goodbye.
1/22/2008 3:21 PM
Sorry, but this is not exclusively a black/white issue. White progressives have been working on the recall from the start and were involved in yesterday's protest.
1/22/2008 3:38 PM
Yeah, Oracle, I'm white and still anti-Slay. The issues go way beyond the Sherman George thing anyway.
1/22/2008 3:49 PM
This may give Slay supporters their own "Sherman George Moment", a perceived insult and injustice to rally around. There are many people who are fired up today.
It's funny and perhaps to be expected that the Post finally put the matter on the front page. Make no mistake. This is bad press for the recall effort.
1/22/2008 4:01 PM
Martin Luther King....supported civil disobedience. The mayor should not have been allowed to speak!! This is the problem that I have with some African-Americans.....It was also a disgrace for Clarence Harmon upon being elected to say, "They're still trying to vote in North St. Louis" while joyfully mocking black people.Some St. Louis negroes are nothing but cowards when it comes to challenging the establishment.
Did we protest when Francine realigned a historically black ward? Did we protest when Francine redirected federal block grant money to the downtown projects..Francine said, "North St.Louis will get the next grant" and laughed. Did we protest when Francine attempted to smear Darlene Green? Did we protest when Francine lobbied against every African-American issue as an alderman?.....Hell No!!!! Shut the Hell Up!!!! I'm not embarrsssed. I was saddened when the cross dressing J.Edgar Hoovar assassinated John and Robert Kennedy and Martin.
Stop feeling sorry!!!! Martin died for these embattled, embarrassed cryin negros!! Were you embarrassed when they killed Fred Hampton? Were you embarrassed when they killed Malcom X?....I believe if Martin was alive today, he would say "MAKE NOISE!!!!"..stop being embarrased!! Nat is awake!
1/22/2008 4:04 PM
As long as it isn't a
Slay/Wanna Be Republican
like Rodney Hubbard.
1/22/2008 4:06 PM
"Sorry, but this is not exclusively a black/white issue. White progressives have been working on the recall from the start and were involved in yesterday's protest."
Yeah, we know. Antonio always cuts to the one or two white guys in the audience at the recall events. Usually one of them is Peter Downs.
1/22/2008 4:07 PM
Peter Downs? Ha, if they get that character thats always protesting metro then they'll have a realllll legit group.
Give me a break.
This recall garbage is old and tiring.
Antonio, is anything of substance going on in St. Louis today?
1/22/2008 4:24 PM
anon 4:07,
all you're doing is showing how uninformed you are. People who were at the rally or at any recall events would see that there are plenty of white progressives at the events.
1/22/2008 6:48 PM
There were MANY white progressives at the Old Courthouse and March.
The first set anonymous bloggers are obviously the same person (or small number of people) trying to put the best pro-Slay spin on this. The protest was NON-VIOLENT.
I repeat...NON-VIOLENT. Dr. King believed in non-violent demonstrations but he sure as heck DID NOT believe in keeping your mouth shut when you were being wronged!
The mayor has WRONGED blacks BIG TIME starting with his St. Louis Public Schools fiasco. If you don't think he has done irreparable damage to African Americans go visit your schools.
I am white and would have been disappointed if my black sisters and brothers had remained quiet.
Dr. King represents many great things including SPEAKING UP...not STAYING QUIET.
But, perhaps a silent mass walk-out would have been better when he stepped to the microphone.
1/22/2008 7:53 PM
i'me a lonley little petunia in an onion patch, an onion patch, an onion patch...
1/22/2008 9:16 PM
"But, perhaps a silent mass walk-out would have been better when he stepped to the microphone."
Agreed. That would have been more eloquent and more devastating.
1/22/2008 9:28 PM
That sound you heard was not the sound of "civil disobedience". That sound was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. rolling over in his grave.
You embarrass us all.
1/22/2008 10:40 PM
Many are embarrased by your silence.
1/22/2008 11:01 PM
When are the people in this town going to grow up and smell the coffee.dammit this is not the 60's whereas during that time period st. louis black citizens didn't bust a grape when dr. king was assassinated..racial discrimination in this town was running rapid..only a few people stand out during that period..Percy Green, Norman Seay..Bill Clay Sr. and a few others..now here we are protesting the evil empire in room 200 and folks are telling us to shut our dayum mouths..how the hell a snake going to speak at the old courthouse knowing that his azz was going to be the one to get bit..Is Francis Slay the first mayor over the last 15 years to not march in the Dr. King parade..hmm..I wonder how in the hell do he sleep at night..and to all our fellow negroes..stop making excuses for Mayor Slay..and who was the fool that said disrespecting Slay at the courthouse was disrepecting Dr. King's dream..The person that made that statement probably went back to city hall and ate dinner with the Slay bunch......
1/22/2008 11:41 PM
I guess if you can't take responsibility for your actions blame Slay.
If the Comptroller screws up a simple land deal, blame Slay.
If the President of the Board of Aldermen fires you, blame Slay.
I see the pattern folks. Big bad Slay is the boogy man. So if he is the cause of all of the wrongs for the last 1000 years then who is the solution?
1/23/2008 8:54 AM
http://www.counterpunch.org/fitz01222008.html
It's sad people are promoting this crazy thinking. Antonio and others who think this way shame on you.
1/23/2008 9:17 AM
As for the shouting down of Slay being like Dr. King, can anyone point to an event where Dr. King did such a thing?
I am more than curious to know if Dr. King engaged in this type of behavior during his life.
Of course, people can do whatever they feel like and say Dr. King would have done the same.
1/23/2008 10:10 AM
Civil Rights Movement Gets Real
St. Louis Mayor Booed Off MLK Platform
By DON FITZ and ZAKI BARUTI
As the mayor approached the MLK Day podium the boos were so loud that the moderator stepped up to ask the crowd to let him speak. Over 500 people began chanting "Slay Must Go!" as dozens waved signs saying "End Racial Division - Recall Francis Slay." No one could tell if there was actually sound coming out of the mayor's lips.
Most of the audience felt it disgraced the memory of Martin Luther King for the mayor to be in the room. A few days before the annual rally Rev. Douglass Parham, Chair of the Concerned Clergy for the Betterment of St. Louis, requested that the officers of the MLK Day Committee uninvite the mayor due to his series of abuses against the Black community.
For over 10 years the Coalition Against Police Crimes and Repression (CAPCR) has attempted to stem the tide of racial profiling, beatings and murder of black youth by St. Louis cops. St. Louisans are continuously reminded of the issue, especially following the airing of footage shot from a news helicopter of cops chasing an unarmed black driver, dragging him out of his car and repeatedly hitting and kicking him.
After enormous effort working with the Board of Aldermen, CAPCR prepared legislation for a Civilian Oversight Board that passed with the votes of all Black Aldermen and several white ones. But the mayor vetoed the bill in 2006, basically saying that nothing would be done about police violence against Black residents. This pushed CAPCR members to be on the frontlines of booing the mayor.
Like many politicians across the US, Francis Slay has made it clear that he wants to gut services for the poor, low income and ethnic minorities. In St. Louis this is most vivid in the attack on public education.
Francis Slay prepared a 2003 takeover of the School Board by assembling a slate of four candidates who spent over $400,000 for an election that usually runs less than $5000. The new Board majority immediately began closing schools, laying off support staff, privatizing the cafeteria and grounds keeping and convincing AFT Local 420 that it intended to bust the union. Changed bus routes forced many kids to walk in the dark.
As Slay's School Board worked to dismantle public education and replace it with charter schools, its meetings became near-riotous shouting matches. The Board squandered $5,000,000 paying the management team of Alvarez and Marsal to sink the schools 26 achievement points below accreditation levels.
A coalition of teachers, parents and students fought back by fielding candidates who won every School Board election between 2004 and 2007. Outraged that his plan to jettison public education was being slowed, Slay worked to have the school system decertified and the elected board replaced by a board appointed politicians in Summer 2007. Teachers, parents and students came together again to boo the mayor.
Reflecting another trend among urban business and political elites, Francis Slay became a champion of eminent domain. During the last five years, low income housing has been clear cut from entire tracts of St. Louis. It has been replaced by much more expensive single family homes and condos. Small businesses have similarly been taken away as their land passes to developers who will enjoy huge tax breaks. Many of the boos the mayor received on MLK Day were from members of the Citizens Coalition to Fight Eminent Domain Abuse.
The other side of the St. Louis housing crisis is the crowding of Black families into dilapidated houses with peeling lead paint and lead dust which poisons children. The Green Party of St. Louis organized efforts to find out where the Slay political machine is spending childhood lead poisoning prevention money.
Throughout 2006, City government dodged questions from the Greens. So the Green Party petitioned for a full audit of City finances. Distrustful of how Slay government handles money, thousands signed. In July 2007, the State Auditor certified that there were significant signatures and that an audit would begin in 2008.
The spark that pushed the Black community into demanding a recall of Slay was the October 2007 demotion of Fire Chief Sherman George. The Black community sees George as a man of great integrity and character who worked himself up to become head of the Fire Department. George would not make promotions because he felt they would be based on unfair tests and would not result in positions going to the best qualified fire fighters.
Slay and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch put a racial edge on the controversy. They accused George of balking because Black fire fighters were underrepresented in the promotion list. When George did not meet Slay's deadline for making promotions, he was demoted. City Hall passed over a Black firefighter who was most qualified to become fire chief and instead appointed Dennis Jenkerson, a white friend of the mayor, to the top job.
The City's Department of Personnel had to change its rules to allow the mayor's friend to be eligible for the position. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch would not cover the story, which was reported by the Black-oriented St. Louis American.
Rallies to support Sherman George simultaneously distributed petitions to recall Francis Slay as mayor. One of the first actions of the Movement to Recall the Mayor of St. Louis was a call for a boycott by asking organizations not to have conventions in the City as long as the deep racial divide continues. In December 2007 the National Society of Black Engineers said that St. Louis would risk losing its convention if the atmosphere did not improve.
Stories of the racial crisis in St. Louis soon appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe and Associated Press. Fully a month after the story of the boycott broke and after it had been covered nationally, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch finally wrote about it.
If Francis Slay wants St. Louis to be his plantation, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch strives to be his overseer. Not only did it fail to cover issues related to Sherman George, the recall and the boycott, it refused to regularly cover Green Party efforts to audit the City.
Yet the local press covered petition drives in much smaller municipalities in the area and the Post-Dispatch had regularly covered the audit petition drive of 1986. Its failure to provide responsible reporting meant that Greens lost potential petitioners and signers, thereby increasing the difficulty of their efforts. Greens would have liked to boo the Post-Dispatch as loudly as they did Slay.
Despite sparse reporting in the white press, mayor Slay's support is slipping. During the week before MLK Day, as black leaders were asking that he be uninvited, a group of business and political bigwigs arranged to discuss the crisis with several Black critics. Slay was not invited to its meetings. Former City Comptroller Virvus Jones, a critic who was at the meeting, told the St. Louis American, "The mayor wasn't in this room because some of the people in the room wouldn't meet with the mayor."
Meanwhile, current Comptroller Darlene Green, one of the most respected Black elected officials in St. Louis, announced that she welcomes the audit prompted by the Green Party. Minutes after Francis Slay was booed off the podium, Green was cheered as she announced her support for the continuing struggle of Black fire fighters in the City of St. Louis. These words were not insignificant since the comptroller sits on several committees with the mayor and coordinates regularly with his office.
Even Hillary Clinton seems to be distancing herself from Slay. Even though he was an early and vocal supported of Clinton, Francis Slay is noticeable by his absence from her campaign rallies.
There is an unambiguous effort to drive low income people, especially Black people, out of major cities across the US. This will increase incredible hardship as oil dries up and transportation costs skyrocket.
St. Louis activists are well aware that local institutional racism reflects this ongoing nationwide effort to intensify the subjugation of people of color. They heard the moderator tell them to be quiet so the mayor could speak as she claimed that MLK Day was a time of peace instead of protest. She could not have been more wrong. Honoring the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King requires continuing the struggle against injustice.
Don Fitz was an organizer of the petition to audit St. Louis, produces Green Time TV and is Editor of Synthesis/Regeneration: A Magazine of Green Social Thought.
Zaki Baruti is an organizer of the petition drive to recall Slay, Co-chair of the Coalition Against Police Crimes & Repression and President General of the Universal African Peoples Organization.
Don Fitz and Zaki Baruti are Co-coordinators of the Green Party of St. Louis.
1/23/2008 10:13 AM
How ridiculously out of touch were the people who organized the rally? They were asked in advance to disinvite Slay, but ignored the request. The boos really show the disconnect between the organizers of the rally and many the people who attend.
1/23/2008 10:51 AM
Thank you protesters!!!
Your ingnorant, distastful tantrum on the King holiday showed the area just what a bunch of hateful and racist militants the City is dealing with.
To the moron in the Klan outfit, priceless, I think it's the perfect costume for the black youth of today. Since, they are responsible for more pain among their own than the klan could have ever dreamed of.
1/23/2008 11:18 AM
Don Fitz and Zaki Baruti made a mistake. Francis Slay is mayor of ST. LOUIS, not UNIVERSITY CITY where they live.
1/23/2008 12:05 PM
Thank you Don Fitz and Zaki Buruti for laying out all of the reasons that citizens want Mayor Slay to go. Some times you just have to remind people of the facts in a case.
As the mother of a son who would have graduated from SLPS this year, I have very strong reasons to want to see the mayor gone. He and his cohorts have almost completely destroyed SLPS. Without accreditation, the district is almost a shell. His actions caused our schools to lose 26 points of achievements when we were only 2 points away from full accreditation. So for all of the people who talk about how bad SLPS was before the takeover and how it was failing, it must have been doing something right under Supt. Cleveland Hammonds to be only 2 points away from full accreditation.
The fact is, is that some people don't want to be confused with the truth, because they have an opinion and the truth doesn't matter.
Mayor Slay disregarded the will of the citizens of St. Louis who voted for the Elected Board of SLPS by working to have them stripped of the power that goes with their position. The people who are hurt and disenfranchised are our children in St. Louis Public Schools. But, Mayor Slay could care less, and I consider it an insult for to ever say that he does. So yes, I want to see him go because of what he has done to our schools as well as the other things that he has done to disregard the will of the people of this city.
1/24/2008 4:34 PM
I do believe that Mayor Slay acted very (VERY) unprofessional in his handling of Chief George. This I say because one could transpose any ethnic, religion, sexual orientation or the like into the same situation, and the offended group would be angered.
However, when those in leadership poorly execute decisions the best way to respond is to vote and that is because the people have that right.
With strong respect for Dr. King, I question the Old Courthouse protest because African Americans do have the right to vote. And, having an awareable responsibility to use that right in times like these, that's what honors Dr. King and those of the Civil Rights Movement.
It serves no good to continue to shame and punish a person...by doing so you begin to bring more sympathy to your opponent than attention to your cause. And I really believe Mayor Slay is banking on that. "Appearing" to extend the olive branch...all politics...to make the protesters look worse than he.
1/24/2008 7:41 PM
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