Document pmXMOOj8zdZBxQMbMYegDGv0d

(Mi' tuiom^/f Monsanto Fund Contributes Big To The Bakari Institute & E. St. Louis Monsanto W.G. Krummrich Plant General Superintendent Keith Miller presents Jahl Bakari and students from The Bakari Institute with a check for *7,500.00 The Monsanto Fund recently presented The Bakari Institute with' a check for *7,500.00; bring ing its total contribution for 1995 to $12,500. The Monsanto Fund has supported the Bakari Institute since its inception in 1993 by donat ing over $22,500 to the organization so that it can continue to provide Afro centric Rites of Passage manhood & womanhood programs for Dist. 189 boys & girls community programs such as Kwanzaa, Peaceful African Summer Nights, a Tribute to Malcolm X to the public. Executive Directorof the Bakari Institute says "without the Monsanto Fund's sup port; there's no way that 99% of over 200 youth we've worked with could have avoided the pitfalls of juvenile delinquency such as teen pregnancies, substance use and abuse, gangs, violence, and poor school performance. As a result of their concern; we will be able to pay staff and provide materials to train 30 more students this school year in African curriculum of dance, drum, arts, crafts, language, history and song; in addition to, tutoring, self-defense, mentor ing, landscaping and garden ing." The Bakari Institute will sponsor the 3rd Annual Kwan zaa Celebration at State Com munity College from December 26 - January 1 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Call 414-0202 for information. Powell's Book Fuels Speculation By ERNEST R. MERCER The release of a new book by retired Army General Colin Powell, "An American Journal", has added fuel to the growing speculation that he could enter the 1996 U.S. Presidential race as a Republican - a Democrat or perhaps as the candidate of a still to be formed moderate to conservative third party. If Powell were to enter the '96 race he has indicated that he would address what he refers to as the country's `sensible center' which he feels has been largely ignored by both of the major parties. Powell retired as Chairman of the U.S. military's Joint Chiefs of Staff after the Persian Gulf War and enjoys a position as one of the nation's most celebrated heros. He is scheduled to appear on October 5th at a Clayton book store, "The Library LTD" as part of a multi-city promotion al tour for the new book. Political observers say that Powell will use the book-tour also to test the waters for a pos sible candidacy. CONTINUED ON PAGE 3A Firebombing Possible In Two Cases Weekend Fires Kill Two, Injure Two By ERNEST R. MERCER Local and state arson experts as well as East St. Louis Police continue to investigate three separate northside fires which occurred between Sunday and Monday leaving a local man and woman dead and a married couple injured. According to East St. Louis Police, one of the two incidents being treated as `suspicious' took the life of 48 year old Patricia Wllkerson when her home at 2115 North 19th Street burned on Sunday morning around 7:00 o'clock. By mid-week among the few charred remains left in the front yard .of Wilkerson's fire gut ted one story home was a sin gle latex glove of the type used by coroners to aid in the removal of bodies. East St. Louis Detective Lt. J.W. Cowan said that initial in vestigations suggest that Wilkerson, who is believed to have been an invalid, may have been unable to escape the flames. However, said Cowan, "It's really too early to tell exactly what happened and we still do not know whether or not some sort of accelerant might have caused the fire." A funeral for Wilkerson is scheduled for Friday. The other `suspicious' fire, oc curred on Sunday evening and* i PATRICIA WILKERSON sent a married couple. Fate Marks and Delorise Marks of 1421 North 40th Street to area hospitals. Fate Marks remains hospital ized at St. Louis Hospital Bum Center with bums over forty percent of his body. Police believe that Marks sus tained his injuries in an attempt to extinguish the fire which ap pears to have been confined generally to a front bedroom. Delorise Marks was treated and released from St. Mary's Hospital in East St. Louis and police believe that the couples' son may have escaped without injury. Though a possible motive has not been established in the Marks fire, police say that evi dence points to the possibility that some sort of incendiary device or fire bomb may have been thrown into the bedroom window. The second fatal week-end fire resulted in the death of 35 year old Mack Leonard of 4017 Forest Ave. Police believe that Leonard's death may have been the result of careless smoking. A neighbor, who asked not to be identified said of Leonard, "I didn't really know him, but he seemed to be a nice man who liked to entertain friends occa sionally. Few details concerning Leonard are available, but the CONTINUED ON PAGE 3A 7JKY Inside... Look for oni ad and see what hl 1T"tvAAv HOT NI:W MOVIT. you'll be watching Tuesday, September 19 DSW 135288 (Staff photos by MIKE VIOLA) The reggae-group Yard Squad performs during the final Peaceful African Summer Nights program of the year at Kenneth Hall Park: Concert series closes y" - 'C on good community note By Mike Viola Staff writer For the second consecutive summer, Saturday nights at Kenneth Hall Park were filled with music and celebration of what is good in East St. Louis. On Aug. 26, the final Peace ful African Summer Nights program was held at the park and like-previous Saturdays, involved a variety of music, family activities and words of encouragement for area chil dren; , - "We tried to do a couple of 'different things this year to get more people involved than 6ur first year,," said Jahl Bak- 'Afi, founder of Harvesting New Generations --Hie Bakari -Institute, which has organized the peaceful' nights for the past two summers. . This year's concert series was started in June and ended Aug. 26.. Concerts were held every- Saturday night at the park except for two weeks in August. -V Performers came from both sides of the river to take part in.the summer night series v this year. z Music heard this summer Included traditional African fnf---------------------------------------------; music, jazz, R&B, gospel, reg gae and blues. At the final program. Yard Squad, one of the top reggae bands in St. Louis, performed for those in attendance. In addition to music by both local and St. Louis groups, the final summer night also included volleyball, football and softball games as well as BBQ. .* Young men and women attending the program were also given a variety of litera ture related to AIDS, safe sex and the advantages of absti nence. In talking to visitors, Bakari noted that the AIDS epidemic is growing in the African- American community but that measures to educate young people about AIDS remains minimal. Throughout the concert series a variety of topics relat ed to young people were addressed including gangs, domestic violence and child abuse. Bakari said the concert series is a way for area resi dents to show pride in their community as well as making a statement that safe, family activities can be held. At top, Desirae Dobbins belts out a tune during the concert finale. Above, Ronsanto Cam bell, four of Washington Park, tries to figure out a portable keyboard. DSW 135289 STLCOPCB4035266