Podcast appearances and mentions of delmar divide

Kevin Bryant, President of Kingsway Development, joins Debbie detailing his companies efforts to keep development moving NORTH of the Delmar Divide.

It was a star studded panel that we assembled for last evening's taping of the KDHX podcast Tangazo. ------ Judith Arnold, an urban planner joined panelist Joe Hanrahan, artistic director and co founder of the Midnight Theatrical Company, along with Brian McKinley, former actor and educator now serving as Director of Education and Community Engagement , for the much celebrated  StLouis Black Repertory Theatre Company. ------ Eric Dundon, Director of Public Relations for the world renowned StLouis Symphony and popular local entertainer Laka Pronounced Lay-ka, rounded out an excellent panel.  Our discussion focused on the important role our arts and cultural institutions play in the effort to make StLouis a “World Class City.” A CNN poll ranking the top 20 midsize cities in the US, finds Kansas City ranked 10th, while StLouis went unranked, although it features many of the same lifestyle attractions, as the cities that were ranked. ------ Inclusiveness was the issue we focused on,  while acknowledging governance as being one of the main reasons ,that StLouis is not viewed, as a top tier city.  Urban planner Judith Arnold, lays a foundation for our conversation,she has been working with groups creating Greenways,  through out the city, with the goal of revitalizing declining neighborhoods and changing the dynamics of the” Delmar Divide”. ------

Delmar Main Street aims to counter the effects of the “Delmar Divide.” The organization focuses on the business corridor between Skinker Blvd. and Taylor Ave., and they are the host of the Black Business Expo being held August 26 at Delmar Blvd. and Hamilton Ave. West End resident and Delmar Main Street Vice President Lisa Potts shares what folks can expect at the expo and how “buying Black” helps communities across the region. Marcus Howard, founder and CEO of GreaterHealth Pharmacy and Wellness, also joins the discussion.

Delmar Divine is the brainchild of Build-A-Bear Workshop founder and philanthropist Maxine Clark. Occupying the site of the old St. Luke's Hospital just north of Delmar Blvd. in St. Louis' West End neighborhood, the project is Clark's way to bridge the “Delmar Divide.” Delmar Divine Executive Director Jorge Riopedre and CEO/Founder of SoulFisher Ministries Shawntelle Fisher discuss how the effort is meeting the needs of local nonprofits and neighboring communities.

The Missouri Historical Society's two-year-old See STL Tour program offers two dozen walking and bus tours that go far beyond what you might expect. Tour guides Amanda Clark and Josiah Gundersen discuss what people take from the tours and how they each fell in love with the city's more unusual stories, locations and characters.

Independent artist Alicia Piller, stopped by to talk with Nancy about her exhibition, Unearthed: Time Keeping Mound City, at Craft Alliance, which runs through October 23rd. Los Angeles based artist, Alicia Piller was born and raised in Chicago and received her  Bachelors in both Fine Arts (Painting) & Anthropology from Rutgers University in 2004. While  working in the fashion industry; living a decade in NYC and three and a half years in Santa Fe,  NM, Piller cultivated her distinctive sculptural voice. Continuing to expand her artistic practice,  Alicia completed her MFA focused on sculpture and installation from Calarts in May of 2019.   As a method to locate the root of human histories, Alicia merges the new and discarded,  experimenting with a wide range of materials to construct large scale works that mimic forms  of cellular biology. Piller envisions historical traumas, both political and environmental, through  the lens of a microscope. Piller's mixed media practice is as much about materiality as it is  about content. Attempting to reconcile questions about the current state of our times; she  works on a macro/micro level, breathing life into materials that have been removed from their ‘natural' environment. Manipulating things like resin and latex balloons (stemming from her  background as a clown); each work becomes a biological unfolding of time, examining the  energy around wounds societies have inflicted upon themselves and others.   Alicia Piller Alicia Piller investigates place. She believes a city, a country, or a specific location can be seen as an object that can be held, explored, dissected and mended back together. “Tracing humanity's roots has always been at the forefront of my interests,” states Piller. “Most recently, focusing on my own roots and the Americana in general.” Piller's studio practice focuses on one place and dives deep into how the earth connects with humanity and how humans connect with the earth. Centering her investigations on history, Piller draws references from both the political and environmental traces of a city. When invited to have a solo exhibition at Craft Alliance, St. Louis became the catalyst for her work.  Piller has always been fascinated with fossils, minerals and botanicals. These earthly elements are where she begins her studies of a new place. Much like a hidden gem, St. Louis started to reveal herself to Piller; stories of how we interacted with the land began to unfold, and tales of struggles and resilience revealed themselves. In this exhibition, Piller leads us on a journey starting at the Cahokia Mounds, speaking to the impact this early civilization had on our history. Identifying native botanicals, fossils and land formations, Piller weaves this imagery into her multi-material sculptures.  Piller examines St. Louis race relations in relation to the natural landscape of the region. This juxtaposition is the root of her work. “This show is meant to get people to think about the intricacy of existence, to examine and discover the connectivity of the past to the present,” Piller explains.   “Highlighting the St. Louis area chronologically through photographic imagery and other mixed media materials, I want the viewers to touch down on moments in time. Examining the inhabitants of a Missouri once covered by ocean, look back to ancient civilizations wiped out and forgotten; recognizing colonial invasion and its effects on society, while presenting a sense of resilience from an American city through tragedy and activism.” Piller's work brings us through the creation of Mound City, to the Dred Scott case, the St. Louis 1917 race riots, Delmar Divide, Mike Brown, and ends with hopeful voices of current activists. Her work moves us through the past and the present, reminding us that we are connected to the earth by paralleling history with native botanicals from the area. We are connected to each other and to the land. “This work is a moment of hope and growth, an explosion of positive energy and transformation. From each work, I want people to get a feeling of movement, a feeling of progression, a  feeling of time expanding and moving. In this way, I want the works to feel like organisms shifting and changing, shedding their skin." Remains. Tectonic Forces. Vanishing Seas.   Pedals Fall.  Seasons Change.   Podcast Curator and Editor: Jon Valley with Technical Support by Mid Coast Media   

Debbie Monterrey moderates Charlie Brennan and Amy Marxkors!

In this episode we interview Pastor Thurman Williams, who is the lead pastor of New City Fellowship: West End in St. Louis, MO. Growing up as a son of a Methodist pastor in the suburbs of Baltimore, he felt the call to explore leading ministry in urban Baltimore. Through his experiences in Baltimore, he was called to co-pastor a church in St. Louis to work towards racial integration within the church that is situated on the "Delmar Divide," a street of historic racial divide in the city. He has since led a church plant in the West End neighborhood comprised mostly by the African-American community north of this divide.Thurman shares humbly about his own journey to overcome aspects of "Messiah" complex and learn the importance of listening to the story of the ways God is already at work in the neighborhood. He has come to recognize that often the neighborhood is the best teacher for him and the church as they seek to be ministers of the gospel. In particular, he notes the importance of recognizing the community vernacular in approach to ministry. For example, they discovered that for those living in the West End walkability to the church was crucial for attendance and identification with the church. Members wanted a church in the West End that felt like the West End  neighborhood. This reality shows just how importance place is to identity and mission.While this episode does not dive deeply into issues of racial injustice, there are references to historical divisions along racial lines in our cities. The built environment has played a distinct role in dividing communities, particularly along racial lines, and these divisions continue to be perpetuated with how our cities are designed and maintained. We share some resources here that expose these realities so that you can be better educated and call for reform in your spheres of influence. The built environment is not neutral and learning to read the community vernacular is a step in recognizing its power and calling for neighborhood infrastructure that promotes the flourishing of all.Access more Show Notes with pictures and resources related to this episode.More information about this podcast and helpful church and urbanism resources can be found on The Embedded Church website.Related ResourcesLet Justice Roll Down by John PerkinsThe Color of Compromise by Jemar TisbyThe Trouble I've Seen by Drew HartJust Mercy by Bryan StevensonThe Color of Law by Richard RothsteinHow the Government Segregated America's Cities by DesignCrossing a St Louis Street that Divides Communities, a short BBC film on Delmar BoulevardZoning Matters: How Land Use Policies Shape Our Lives, a short video by How Housing MattersFind these Key Terms on The Embedded Church website:- Belonging- Local Culture- WalkabilityShow CreditsHosted and Produced by Eric O. Jacobsen and Sara Joy ProppeEdited by Adam Higgins | Odd Dad Out Voice ProductionsTheme Music by Jacob ShafferArtwork by Lance Kagey | Rotator Creative

May 17, 2020. What does it look like to embody the unity of the Spirit in this time of physical separation? What does the commandment of love, for God and one another, look like in this time of COVID-19? Pastor Meagan's sermon today is on these questions, and Jesus' promise not to leave us orphaned, in this time of uncertainty.Readings: John 14:15-21, 1 Peter 3:13-22*** Transcript ***By now, you probably know that I have a thing for cats. Over the last few weeks, I've had the joy of watching over Facebook as a colleague who lives in Virginia has been raising five tiny kittens whose mother disappeared and has not been found. Weighing in at less than a pound when they were rescued, they needed help with absolutely everything. Their eyes still closed, and their little legs still too weak to support even their bitty weight, they started their time in foster care in a box just big enough for them. They were fed with eyedroppers at first, as they couldn't even handle even a bottle yet. They needed to be cleaned from head to tail, as their mother would have done frequently. As they have gained strength, their space has been expanded to include room to play, a designated litter box, and an increasing number of toys. In the last week, there have been pictures and video of these fur babies, now all over a pound, eyes wide open, exploring not just a box but a whole room, hungrily inhaling solid wet food, pulling on strings and leaping back when the string responds, and pouncing on toys, and one another, and their parents’ hands and feet. They still wobble as they navigate their new surroundings, and they return frequently to the safety of their protected habitat to rest and regroup, guided by the nurturing hands and hearts of their caregivers. Their mother may have disappeared, but they have not been abandoned.“I will not leave you orphaned,” Jesus told his disciples. And although we are now in the Easter season, this promise came before that — before Jesus had even been arrested, before his crucifixion and death, before the disciples discovered the empty tomb. Jesus was trying to prepare the disciples for what was to come, letting them know that everything was about to change, that he was going to be arrested and die, that their whole world as they knew it was about to fall apart, that they would in fact betray him — and yet, they would not be alone.“I will not leave you orphaned.” In our own time of uncertainty, this is so comforting to hear! And there is so much in Jesus’ counsel that can guide us as we navigate our new world, a world changed by the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020.“I will not leave you orphaned.” Jesus promises that the Spirit of truth will be with us, that God will be present around and before and within us, bringing us together. And, Jesus says that the world will not see the truth, but that the disciples will. I hear this and can’t help but echo Pilate’s question to Jesus: “What is truth?” How, in the chaos of this broken world, can we see where we are to go, what we are to do, how we are to be church in the midst of it all?Our eyes are being opened, Christ Lutheran family, in this time when everything we have been used to has been altered. Our routines have been disrupted, the easy sense of inherent safety as we navigate the world undermined. Any illusion that “church” means the building in which we worship has been exposed. Because right in this moment, we're separated from our building, and physically separated from one another. And yet the truth of what it means to be the church is perhaps more accessible to us than ever. Jesus talks about keeping the commandment of love, for God and one another, as a mark of God’s people. It is the greatest commandment, one by which we will be known as the church. What does that look like, in this time of COVID-19? How can we be the church, by embodying love — for one another, for God, and for the world around us?Jesus says the Spirit brings us together, with one another and with God. Jesus abides in us; we abide in God. No matter what forces may try to pull us apart, we are all human, children of God, and in our humanity we are connected. The systems of this world are designed to separate us, put us into categories based on so many things: race and ethnicity, gender and orientation, socio-economic status, language, the list goes on. This pandemic experience can widen the gap, and all we have to do is look at a map of cases of COVID-19 in the St. Louis area to know that the Delmar Divide is real — this virus, while devastating to all of us, is particularly damaging to people of color, and people living in poverty, many of whom do not have adequate sick leave and access to health care.What does it look like to embody the unity of the Spirit in this time of physical separation? Especially in times like this, being the church means noticing when people are left out, oppressed, and excluded, and claiming the love of God that surrounds and embraces and fills everything that is, speaking the truth that we are all one and working actively for a world where all people have what they need. With eyes that are opened, we can see our neighbors living this out every day. Webster-Rock Hill Ministries is there each day, providing food and other necessities for those who need them. Our schools are continuing to provide meals for their students, so no one will go hungry while the buildings are closed. Room at the Inn continues to provide shelter for families without housing, in new ways to keep everyone safe and healthy. Advocates around the city are calling attention to the injustices that exist in our prisons, housing, and health care, and immigration systems, injustices that are particularly poignant as we all navigate a public health crisis like none we have ever lived through.Our reading from 1 Peter today tells us to be ready. Be ready to walk into the world as it is, and embody something different. Stand face to face with separation, and fear, and anxiety, and violence, and be the church — in our families, our schools, our workplaces, our neighborhoods — to witness the love of God, and see God’s creation and our fellow humans, and ourselves, in the light of God’s love.“I will not leave you orphaned.” Just as those tiny kittens have so much yet to learn about the world around them, for us, too, much is yet unknown. And, the Spirit of love, of truth, of hope, is with us, and will be, guiding us as we find our way forward. In our weariness, anxiety, fear, grief, and yes, excitement and joy as we discover new ways of doing ministry together, we can rest assured that we have not been abandoned. God is with us, and we are in this together.Thanks be to God.*** Keywords ***2020, Christ Lutheran Church, Webster Groves, sermon, podcast, transcript, Pastor Meagan McLaughlin, 1 Peter 3:13-22, John 14:15-21, coronavirus

The cover image on this report shows a painful face of St. Louis: the stark "Delmar Divide" with its north-south, black-white, disadvantaged and more privileged split up the middle of this city's economics, social and cultural resources. Not a worthy picture, but a growing body of action.                     Just released in October 2019, Environmental Racism in St. Louis concentrates results of other reports, commissioned by official sources, into one from the people profiled by the data. Each of 8 chapters details a serious issue with environmental roots, from persistent lead pollution to the bluntly defined Food Apartheid.  Leah Clyburn, organizer in the Sierra Club Missouri Beyond Coal campaign, led this effort for Sierra Club, collaborating with leaders of Action St. Louis, Arch City Defenders and Dutchtown South Community Corporation. The Interdisciplinary Law Clinic at Washington University prepared the report. Clyburn's take on these issues, in this Earthworms conversation and her work at large, is a rare merger of frank no-compromise and sincere encouragement to engage.  Music: Taproom, performed live at KDHX by Brian Curran THANKS to Andy Heaslet, Earthworms Engineer Related Earthworms Conversations: St. Louis Metro Market: Grocery Story in a Bus (June 2015)  Sweet Potato Project: Growing Social Justice, One Garden at at Time (Sept 2016) 

Episode 11 of Priced Out the Podcast is about the great city of St. Louis, MO. The city is a wonderful place with great people and a lot of new potential. There is new energy and growth going on, but the city has a long and troubling past and continues to be challenged by vast poverty, discrimination and neglect. We talk with two residents Rebeca Carlos, host of the podcast Explain to Me and artist and community activist Kevin Hopkins. We talk about the city's deep history of segregation, the Delmar Divide, the Riots of 1916, the poverty and abandonment of East Louis Louis and North St. Louis White Flight in Spanish Lakes and speculate if big property owners are playing games and driving down land values like they have done in Detroit. We also talk about the early signs of gentrification or "revitalization" in the Delmar Loop, Benton Park, South City the Grove and elsewhere. https://www.pricedoutmovie.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/priced-out-podcast/support

Honoring emergency responders, crossing the Delmar Divide, and cleaning a cemetery, on this Catholic Gateway Podcast weekly news update for September 11, 2017. Also, the impact of Hurricane Harvey is still being felt in Texas; meanwhile Florida is reeling from Hurricane Irma. Catholic Charities of St. Louis is accepting donations to assist in the relief efforts of both disasters. Visit https://www.ccstl.org/get-involved/donate/ to donate. Online stlouisreview.com and archstl.org will have up to date coverage.

While most people think of the "Delmar Divide," as simply a line that separates a mostly white community to the south and a mostly black community to the north, the reality is that the divide represents huge disparities in health.