Dawn Suggs

Michelle Maxey spoke about why she joined the No Kings protest on Tamm Bridge, Highway 64 overpass, Sat., Oct. 18, 2025. Video by Dawn Suggs | St. Louis American

“I always had a pressure to succeed; … we’ve been a success-oriented family. This became a problem for others … to adjust to their stereotypes, that Blacks could compete with or surpass whites, … that Blacks were individuals and personalities, some you liked and some you didn’t.” Those were the words of Anita Lyons Bond, […]

The opportunity to visit the nine-month-old Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center in Greenwich Village was provided by the 2025 Local Media Association and Local Media Foundation conference in New York, April 1-2, 2025. Housed at the former gay bar Stonewall Inn, the center commemorates and celebrates The Stonewall Rebellion which took place at the landmark […]

Rain didn’t deter hundreds of “Hands Off St. Louis Missouri” protesters who took to the street in Brentwood on Saturday, April 5, 2025 to protest Trump, Elon Musk and their policies and actions which erode U.S. democracy. This protest was one of several “Hands Off Democracy” protests in the region and many throughout the nation.

Sixteen-year-old Brooke Gumbs protested in the rain on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the “Hands Off” St. Louis, Missouri rally at Brentwood Blvd. and Eager Road in St. Louis county. Listen to why she chose to be there… Video by Dawn Suggs | St. Louis American

Sixteen-year-old Brooke Gumbs protested in the rain on Saturday, April 5, 2025 for the “Hands Off” St. Louis, Missouri rally at Brentwood Blvd. and Eager Road in St. Louis county. Listen to why she chose to be there… Video by Dawn Suggs | St. Louis American

“This is a tribute to my ancestors, the earlier artists who lived before me and whose works have remained anonymous… The people who brought [the sculptures] back didn’t try to identify the creators; but they were great artists, and well-known throughout their regions.” – Cheri Samba, 2002-2003, quote about his tribute “Hommage aux anciens createurs” […]

Before Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton appeared on The Arsenio Hall in 1992, donned sunglasses and played the saxophone, which stoked conversations that he was a “friend” to Black folks, James Earl “Jimmy” Carter, Jr. was the late twentieth century U.S. president best known for his presumed “comfort” with African Americans.   “All of my playmates, […]

Lynn Whitfield, a 2024 ULSTL Salute to Women Lifetime Achievement honoree, served Hollywood glam, spoke about service, saluted St. Louis icons Josephine Baker, Maya Angelou and celebrated the power of Black women at the 20th annual Salute to Women at The Marriott St. Louis Grand on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024. 📸 Dawn Suggs | St. […]

If you’re a registered voter who didn’t have time to request an absentee voting ballot, but want to avoid delays and complications on election day, Tuesday, November 5, 2024, there are still options for you to vote early in St. Louis City and County.  All you need is a state or federally issued picture ID, […]

Pride 2024 Kick-off with Opera Theatre of Saint Louis “It’s about acknowledging and celebrating the LGBTQIA plus members of our company and our community,” said General Director of Opera Theatre of Saint Louis Andrew Jorgenson on June 1, the first day of Pride, at the special Pride Opening Night of Giacommo Puccini’s opera “La bohème” […]

The St. Louis American has grown its digital solutions exponentially to better serve our audience and the entire community. Founded in 1928, The St. Louis American was on the vanguard of Black legacy newspapers that ventured into the digital terrain over two decades ago. We know our future is tied inextricably with our ability to […]

The holidays offer joyful festivities and carefree abandonment for many; however, they can also be a time of isolation and a pressure cooker of emotions and expectations for those who face a great deal of stress and duress already.  Studies show that domestic abuse and violence increases during such major holidays as Thanksgiving, Christmas and […]

On a bright, crisp morning in October, a crowd of Donald Suggs Jr.’s friends, neighbors, and family from across the country gathered at the southwest corner of East 6th street and Avenue B in New York City’s East Village. In front of a verdant community garden, they witnessed the unveiling of the street sign “Donald […]

On Tuesday, the State of Missouri executed Kevin Johnson.

It is at this inflective moment for the rule of law and social and economic justice in this country, that one of the nation’s only two major political parties is

St. Louis American reporter Danielle Brown spoke with U.S.Senate Candidate Trudy Busch Valentine (D-Missouri) at The 2022 Education Salute program on Saturday, October 1, 2022. Busch said if elected she’d sit down with St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones to find out her top three concerns for the city of St. Louis. The American asked Mayor […]

Sound glitches aside, The 94th Oscar award show started off like the shows of yesteryear before the pandemic with nominees and celebrities decked in bold fashions and finery being interviewed,

Jewel Fay Betty Ann Bateman Suggs, also known as Betty Suggs, former and only wife of St. Louis American publisher Donald M. Suggs, was a storyteller. When her children asked why the name on her birth certificate was so long, she explained its origin. “My parents [who eventually divorced] just couldn’t agree on anything, so […]

Domestic violence takes three beautiful souls:  Rosey, Kaylen and Kaylee “My sister was brutally beaten on February 20th and 12 days later it was announced that she and two of her children were dead.  My sister did absolutely everything.  She filed a report the same day she was beaten, she followed up with detectives and […]