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Greenwood Cemetery: History, Community, Restoration Work

6 years 9 months ago

In the rural outskirts of St. Louis, in 1874, Greenwood Cemetery was formed to serve the African-American population growing here after the Civil War. This rolling, 32 acre site became this community's first non-sectarian commercial cemetery open to African Americans.

                       

Until Greenwood closed to burials in 1993, more than 50,000 people were laid to rest here: Buffalo Soldiers and domestic workers, musicians and civil rights leaders, whole families both named and undocumented. This history, still being researched and written, remembers the persistence, hardships and gifts of black individuals' human lives - a remembrance now being restored.  

    
Greenwood shares a fate with other cemeteries with no church or other stewarding relationships, that hold the folk of poor and marginalized people. Human neglect dumped trash on the property - and nature's forces took over. But friends arose to reclaim the history and natural grace of this place. Descendants of those interred and academic professionals formed Friends of Greenwood Cemetery in 1999. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2004. With much more work to do, this circle of support is growing.

The Greenwood Cemetery Preservation Association brings this story to Earthworms. Guests are Shelley Morris and Rafael Morris, Secretary and President of the GCPA board; Becky McMahon of DJM Ecological Services; and Ann Eftimoff of World Wide Technology.

Music: Slide Blues, performed live at KDHX by Brian Curran.

THANKS to Anna Holland, audio engineering ace.

Related Earthworms Conversations: Green Burial (January 2017)

Rep. Haefner on why Gov. Greitens should step down — and if the legislature can move forward

6 years 9 months ago

On the latest edition of the Politically Speaking podcast, St. Louis Public Radio’s Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies welcome state Rep. Marsha Haefner to the program.

Haefner made news last week when she and state Rep. Kathie Conway, R-St. Charles, became the first Republican House members to call for Gov. Eric Greitens to resign. Greitens admitted earlier this month that he had an extramarital affair before he was governor, but denied allegations he took a photo of a woman to keep the infidelity a secret. He reiterated to the Associated Press this weekend that he will not be stepping down.

Behind the Headlines: Has Greitens’ affair affected his governance?

6 years 10 months ago
On Friday’s Behind the Headlines segment, St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh discussed Gov. Eric Greitens’ impact on governance after his admission to having an extramarital affair. Joining the discussion were St. Louis Public Radio politics editor Fred Ehrlich and reporter Jo Mannies. Ehrlich said he believes the scandal affected business in the Senate since the governor’s statewide tax-reform tour is on hold and proposed state budget has not been released. Various elected officials called on the governor to resign, but Ehrlich said he does not see that happening at the moment. “I think [Greitens is] going to try to move forward,” Ehrlich said. “Unlike a lot of political scandals where the official will go on a repentance tour, he’s not going to do that – even though the public wants it and he probably should.” Greitens’ has not appeared in the public since the news broke of his affair. Mannies said the governor is “missing his opportunity” to clear the air by staying quiet. “If he

Civil rights lawyer Frankie Muse Freeman advocated that everyone ‘do more’

6 years 10 months ago
Among the names of those who have been most involved in advancing civil rights in St. Louis, Frankie Muse Freeman’s is one of the most prominent. On Friday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh discussed the life and legacy of the civil rights lawyer. Freeman died Jan. 12 at age 101. She worked to address and end cases of discrimination in St. Louis and nationally. Joining the discussion were community activist Percy Green, St. Louis City NAACP president Adolphus Pruitt II and James Buford, former president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. “What I think about when I see Frankie is stature, courage, power, carriage – the way I would want my kids, anybody I know, to carry themselves as a leader in the African-American community,” Buford said. “She was magnanimous. She was holistic.” While Green’s political approach differed from Freeman’s, he said Freeman was personable. Green said he disagreed with some of Freeman’s political decisions, like her support of former

‘Definitely a chef year:’ Sauce Magazine’s ‘Ones to Watch’ in 2018

6 years 10 months ago
On this month’s Sound Bites segment produced in partnership with Sauce Magazine , managing editor Catherine Klene gave an overview of the six up-and-comers the publication chose for its annual " Ones to Watch " feature. The article highlights local culinary talent to watch in 2018. On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh talked to Klene and featured chefs Bryan Russo and Evy Swoboda. “It’s definitely a chef year,” Klene said. “It speaks to the caliber of restaurants in St. Louis and the talent that these kitchens are incubating.” Klene said Sauce Magazine selected the professionals who not only cook well, but have potential to lead and partake in different culinary projects. “We want people with goals, who really want to grow in the St. Louis food scene; who are committed to this area and growing their careers and the culinary scene as a whole,” Klene said. For example, Russo experiments with bread and its various fermentations. He’s a chef at Público, a Latin-inspired

‘Gay Home Movie’ documentary opens discussions about race, gender and privilege

6 years 10 months ago
Twenty years ago, St. Louis filmmaker Geoff Story went to an estate sale on Lindell Boulevard. There he picked up two canisters of home movies, not knowing what were on them. What Story found shocked him – dozens of gay men at a pool party in a remote location in Hillsboro, Missouri in 1945. Check out Nancy Fowler’s story about the home movies revealing what is was like being gay in mid-century St. Louis. Story’s upcoming documentary, “ Gay Home Movie ,” will incorporate the home videos as well as interviews with the families and friends of the men in these films. On Thursday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh discussed what gay life was like during the 1940s and 50s in St. Louis. Joining the discussion was Nancy Fowler, arts and culture reporter at St. Louis Public Radio, Steven Brawley, author of "Gay and Lesbian St. Louis" and Miranda Rectenwald, curator of local history at Washington University. “[The videos are] a really wonderful glimpse. There is not a lot of visual

Rep. Quade on how uncertainty over Gov. Greitens affects the legislature’s work

6 years 10 months ago

On the latest episode of Politically Speaking, St. Louis Public Radio's Jason Rosenbaum and Jo Mannies are pleased to welcome state Rep. Crystal Quade to the show for the first time.

The freshman legislator is the only Democrat to represent a House district in southern Missouri. She is a member of the powerful House Budget Committee, which makes big decisions about the state's financial future.

450 refugees are expected to resettle in St. Louis this year, compared to more than 1,100 in 2016

6 years 10 months ago
This year, the International Institute estimates the arrival of only 450 refugees arriving to St. Louis. That’s a sharp decline compared to the amount of refugee resettlement in previous years – 659 refugees in 2017 and 1135 refugees in 2016. On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh addressed the decline of refugees arriving to St. Louis over the past couple of years. Joining him for the discussion was Betsy Cohen, executive director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project and Anna Crosslin, president and CEO of the International Institute of St. Louis. Crosslin said initiatives at the White House last year resulted in the sharp decline of refugees resettled nationally and in St. Louis. Refugees are part of a subset of immigrants arriving to the United States, who are admitted due to well-founded fears of persecution in their native countries. The president’s executive orders and various travel bans heavily impacted the International Institute’s refugee clients, where family

'Take more breaks', 4 other facts about author Daniel Pink's scientific secrets of perfect timing

6 years 10 months ago
Author Daniel Pink researched the science of timing to see how time of day affects what we do and how we do it. On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh talked to Pink about his latest book, “When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing,” where the bestselling author drew on research from psychology, biology and economics to reveal how to live and work efficiently. Time of day influences our performance “Chronobiology” is the study of time in living organisms and their adaptation to solar and lunar-related rhythms. Understanding your “chronotype” (biological rhythm) is the first step to understanding what you should do, and the time of day to do it. Time of day explains 20 percent of the variants in human performance on brain power tasks at work. For example, handwashing in hospitals deteriorates significantly during the afternoon and physicians are more likely to prescribe necessary antibiotics in the afternoon and anesthesia errors are four times more likely to occur at

Beekeeping Workshop 2018 - Honey of an Opportunity

6 years 10 months ago

The ancient flow of love between Homo sapiens and Apis mellifera keeps food in our bellies, flowers blooming around us, and repairs the whacks we continue to take at nature's balance.

Maybe it's only a bit, one beekeeper, one hive at a time. Yet this relationship embodies the best of how our kind can interact with another species - in this case with a bug - to produce cascading benefits for whole biodiverse environments.

          
Eastern Missouri Beekeepers spreads this love, in an annual intensive workshop and cooperative-learning events year-round. The all-day Beekeeping Workshop, coming up February 10, brings nationally respected beekeeping experts to St. Louis to teach beginning and experienced beekeeping, alongside local pollinator advocates.

This Earthworms conversation draws on beekeeping savvy of Bob Sears, president of Eastern MO Beekeepers; Kate Smith, ardent beekeeper (3 years plus family heritage); and Becky Masterman, program manager for the University of Minnesota's acclaimed Bee Squad, who'll join EMBA members as workshop guest faculty.

Earthworms loves to talk Bees!

Music: Magic 9, performed live at KDHX by Infamous Stringdusters

THANKS to Anna Holland, engineering Earthworms bee-youtifully

Related Earthworms Conversations:
Wild Bees and Native Plants with Heather Holm - March, 2017

Vanishing Bees: Science, Politics and Honeybee Health (Jan 2017)

Honeybee Democracy - Dr. Tom Seely is WILD About Bees (Feb 2016)

 

St. Louisan John McDaniel, Londoner Barb Jungr collaborate to perform the Beatles

6 years 10 months ago
St. Louis native John McDaniel is a Grammy and Emmy award-winning musician. For years he performed as the band leader of The Rosie O’Donnell Show. Londoner Barb Jungr is known for her pop music, theater and cabaret performances. McDaniel and Jungr will perform together at Kranzberg Arts Center later this month. On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh talked with McDaniel and Jungr about their upcoming performance “Come Together,” which features music by the Beatles. Growing up not too far from Liverpool, the birthplace of the iconic band, Jungr had always avoided listening to their music until McDaniel arranged their song, “In My Life,” for her to perform. She loved the arrangement and the two decided to feature their take on the group’s music for their next album. The musical duo will give the familiar sound of the Beatles something new. They will take the music apart and reconstruct it to give the audience a different type of presentation. “We will take a song and have a

How and when to help children understand people’s differences effectively

6 years 10 months ago
How can children learn to respect other people’s identities and differences in the world? On Tuesday’s St. Louis on the Air , host Don Marsh talked about how parents, grandparents, other relatives and caregivers can help young children understand and appreciate differences in other human beings, families and communities. Joining the discussion were Tabari Coleman, project director of the Anti-Defamation League’s A World of Difference Institute, and Stephen Zwolak, CEO of LUME Institute and executive director of the University City Children’s Center. Zwolak said concepts of understanding start imbedding at infancy. Coleman said understanding doesn’t mean ignoring another’s differences, but rather recognizing and accepting them. “Be matter of fact with a child, [do not] avoid the situation,” Coleman said. “When we don’t have an honest conversation, what we do is we prepare them to avoid those conversations when they get older.” Zwolak said the role of schools is more influential than