Bobby Norfolk at Folktale Productions

In 1923 St. Louis lawyer and activist Homer G. Phillips worked up a bargain with St. Louis mayor Henry Kiel—the mayor’s massive $87 million civic improvement plan would get Black St. Louisans’ votes, but only if it included a Black hospital on the city’s north side. Finally opened in 1937, the 685-bed Homer G. Phillips Hospital was the largest in the country for African Americans and one of the only hospitals in the country where Black doctors and nurses could receive training

St. Louis is more interesting, more complex, and more surprising than you might realize. It all starts with an introduction at mohistory.org/vision

Vision Film Premiere An afternoon of premiere events featuring the first showing of "Vision" followed by a Q&A, panel discussion, and hors d'oeuvres reception!

The Weaponization of Storytelling The American public is more susceptible than ever to skewed narratives.

Willie Mays makes a catch at the wall at Ebbets Field, 1954.

Willie Howard Mays Jr. who was born on May 6, 1931. Nicknamed "The Say Hey Kid” Mays spent almost all of his 22-season Major League Baseball (MLB) career playing for the New York/San Francisco Giants (1951–1952, 1954–1972) before finishing his career with the New York Mets (1972–1973). Regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979.
Willie Mays joined the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League in 1948, playing with them until the Giants signed him once he graduated from high school in 1950. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in his MLB debut year of 1951, spent two years in the United States Army during the Korean War, and won the National League (NL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) Award in 1954 after leading the league in batting with a .345 batting average. His over-the-shoulder catch of a Vic Wertz fly ball in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series is one of the most famous baseball plays of all time. The Giants swept the Cleveland Indians, the lone World Series triumph of Mays's career.
Mays led the NL with 51 home runs (HR) in 1955. In 1956, he stole 40 bases, leading the NL for the first of four straight years. He won his first of 12 Gold Glove Awards in 1957, a record for outfielders. The Giants moved to San Francisco after the 1957 season, and Mays contended for the batting title until the final day of 1958, hitting a career-high .347. He batted over .300 for the next two seasons, leading the league in hits in 1960. After leading the NL with 129 runs scored in 1961, Mays led the NL in home runs in 1962 as the Giants won the NL pennant and faced the New York Yankees in the World Series, which the Giants lost in seven games.
By 1963, Mays was making over $100,000 a year, setting a record at the time with a $105,000 contract for that season. In 1964, his manager Alvin Dark named him the Giants' captain. He led the NL with 47 home runs that year. He hit 52 the following year, leading the NL and winning his second MVP award. 1966 was the last of 10 seasons in which he had over 100 runs batted in (RBI). In 1969, he hit the 600th home run of his career; he got his 3,000th hit in 1970. Traded to the Mets in 1972, Mays spent the rest of that season and 1973 with them before retiring. He served as a coach for the Mets until 1979 and later rejoined the Giants as a special assistant to the president and general manager.
Mays finished his career batting .302 with 660 home runs, the sixth-most of all time, and 1,903 runs batted in. He holds MLB records for most putouts as an outfielder (7,095) and the most extra-inning home runs (22). Mays was selected for 24 All-Star Games, tied for the second-most of all time. He was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team in 1999 and ranked second on The Sporting News's "List of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players", behind only Babe Ruth. President Barack Obama presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015.

Willie died Tuesday 18th June 2024 at the age of 93.

✨We are so proud to be a part of this regional conversation✨ Last Saturday was the premiere of our short film Vision! It was a sold-out success and we can't wait to continue with a year's worth of screenings!

I am starring as an EXTRA 🤩🤣😂🤪 in the short film, Vision!

Haha! But I got to work with some really amazing, talented people on a powerful project. Oh to see from the inside…what an incredible experience.

Come see the short film and the folks I am talking about at the premiere on 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟭𝟴𝘁𝗵 (𝟭:𝟯𝟬 𝗽.𝗺.-𝟰:𝟬𝟬 𝗽.𝗺.) 𝗮𝘁 Washington University in St. Louis 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗿𝗴 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘂𝗺 complete with a red carpet, step n repeat, screening, Q&A session, and panel discussion.

Ticket information coming soon!

This film is brought to you by Speak up productions and LOVE the LOU, a non-profit that is dedicated to creating opportunities for infrastructure and community in north STL!
S/O Dan Parris

Board of Aldermen - Sine Die - April 15, 2024 More information:Meeting Agenda: https://www.stlouis-mo.gov/government/city-laws/upload/legislative/agenda/4-15-2024%20Agenda%2039%20Sine%20Die%20FINAL2.pdfC...

I did "Reflections" before the meeting for the St. Louis Board of Aldermen & Women April 15, 2024. Take a look!

It was great to get together today and catch up with my friend and fellow artist, the wonderful 3 time Emmy award winning storyteller Bobby Norfolk at Folktale Productions . I had lots of stories to share with Bobby about my travels in California and Arizona last year.

Bobby Norfolk and I have played a number of shows together over the years with the Scott Joplin show and the Duke Ellington show. Good to hang out at Thai Table in Maplewood here in hometown St. Louis for some good, healthy Thai food!

Stay tuned for a future post about Bobby's CD recording! Yup, CDs are still being used even in 2024! 😎🤘

Congratulations to the 2023 Poetry Out Loud Tennessee State Champion (L-R) Charlotte Bollschweiler; 1st Runner Up, Ephraim Sorrell; 2nd Runner Up, Kristian Marchand; and 3rd Runner Up, Ava Brown!

We are looking forward to hosting this incredible event again this Saturday! Parking is available in the parking lot on K Street or by the Children's Museum at the J Street entrance and along the streets..

Day 1 of filming our short film “Vision” is complete! We are so excited for this project. There’s so much good happening in North City 🎥

City planners hoped that the Gateway Arch would be completed in time for St. Louis’s city bicentennial in 1964, but building such a novel structure came with plenty of setbacks. As St. Louisans celebrated that year’s Fourth of July on the riverfront, the legs of the Arch stood halfway complete.

Visit our exhibit to learn more about how the Arch came to be, then book a spot on one of our Downtown Origins tours.