Op-Ed: A Tornado Just Destroyed Black St. Louis, It's Time For Black America To Unite
The time is approximately 3:00 a.m. We currently don't know the time since losing our electricity. All of our devices have since died. The food in the refrigerator went bad and the edible food was thrown on a BBQ grill days ago.
How are the children? They are getting restless in the house without internet access and the ability to use their devices. Of course, they can play outside all day, and do. But the heat is rising and we are in line for more storms.
The reality is, who wants to play when you're hungry and homeless? Oh, I forgot to mention that a tornado just came through our city and destroyed it. No, decimated it. I thought I was going to die, as did many others. Please send your condolences to the five families who lost loved ones during the storm.
St. Louis, Mo., the city that birthed legends: Dick Gregory, Bill Clay, Cori Bush, Freeman Bosley, Sr., Arthur Ashe, Ronald Isley, Fred Sanford, Tina Turner, Annie Malone and Nelly, is in ruins.
The Arch that people come from miles around and other states to see is on the Black side of town. It too felt the powerful effects of last Friday's tornado.
We are now five days into dealing with the aftereffects of the tornado. Folks keep saying how resilient Black people are, how we get through the toughest of times and situations. But all this talk of time reminds me that we need about 5,000 watches and radios down here. Many of us have no way to communicate other than word of mouth.
Let me paint the picture for you of the devastation as we are facing this 'new normal' living under Trump in 2025.
We are living through a storm that displaced and unhoused over 90,000 black residents within 21 minutes on May 16. This day will be our new holocaust since slavery that we tell our grandchildren about for years to come.
About a week ago, Trump fired the Head of FEMA, so I guess emergency help from the government is off the table?
You can't drive safely through our streets because 100-year-old trees are blocking the way. The police are out redirecting traffic and foot traffic away from the white part of town that was barely affected by the tornado or storm.
Even sadder than the lack of help disbursed by Republican Governor Mike Kehoe is the lack of access to food in black communities that are already food deserts. In a state that loves to tout its agricultural business acumen, the logistics for getting food and water to Black voters is going to be the nail in the coffin for the Republicans in 2026, or should be.
As for newly elected Democrat Mayor Cara Spencer, who routed incumbent Mayor Tishaura Jones, the first Black female mayor of St. Louis City—she has been missing in action, and so have her services for us. She ran and won on being able to deliver basic services to Black people better than a Black mayor. She is doing a worse job than her predecessor. Often, what gets lost behind all the politics is the loss of life behind bad politics being enacted in the name of democracy.
We here in the Lou are not without loss of Black institutions and life. The great Centennial Christian Church and a beautiful statue of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., located in the Fountain Park neighborhood of northwest Saint Louis, took a direct hit from the storm. The church collapsed, injuring more than 10 and claiming the life of the one black elderly woman who was a staple in the community.
Further north, in the blackest parts of town where my family lives, a Black elder passed around the corner in the 4100 block of Margaretta Ave. She was one of at least seven deaths that have been confirmed.
The hood where the former congresswoman Cori Bush lived has been turned into a third world country that looks less like any city or municipal district in the United States of America and more like Haiti after the earthquake in 2010.
I speak more so of a visibly third-world country because, depending on the house, they were already living in third-world conditions right here in America in 2025. How so? Well, for starters, the few thousand houses that remain without any collateral damage from the tornado or storm must now house a population of just over 80,000 people. With over 75,000 being black. Like my mama and yo mama, Black. Back to Africa Black, but ain't been back since slavery type of Black. All in one part of the city.
The tornado ravaged our only form of shelter, which prevented them from being homeless. We may just be the largest homeless city in the western hemisphere. Yes, surpassing Skid Row.
And now we are here with another forecast that predicts a new round of storms bearing down on us.
Photo Courtesy of Michael Brown Sr.
Despite knowing that we are a resilient race of people, we are tired of 'resilient' being our crowning glory, word to St. Louis Author Ayaba Sibongile.
As a person who is going through 72-plus hours without electricity, heat, hot water, and access to cooked food unless I can walk at least one mile and another mile back home. I am still boots on the ground serving my people.
Sidenote: As a Black organizer and writer living in these conditions, we are desperate and we need help to continue helping our people. Last year, I watched as Black people raised over 100 million dollars in three days for Former VP Kamala Harris' presidential run. We sure could use that right now to heal, restore and rebuild Black St. Louis.
Formerly a Hall on Kings Highway and Page
The water is limited. We are facing limited access to healthy drinking water, food, shelter or a healthcare provider. The asbestos dust, the lead dust, and particles from fiberglass insulation permeating the air make it even more dangerous and unsafe for us in our tornado-torn communities.
Even more difficult is making sure everyone is accounted for and getting the resources to those most in need. For example, if we collect enough resources for everyone, we can't get them to folks because the roads are blocked. Our elders need proper refrigeration for their medicine. There are people dependent on oxygen machines who are without electricity. At this point, we are facing life and death. Desperate, starving people start speaking the language of the unheard quickly.
Photo Courtesy of Chris Philips
But these are our living conditions and we desperately need your help, Black World. From Black celebrities, to rappers, politicians, to African Heads of State, we need emergency resources to help us survive the previous storm and to prepare for the upcoming ones. As well as resources to rebuild Black St. Louis.
Ultimately, we need a group of Black experts, medical doctors, architects, faith leaders, freedom-fighting visionaries, and Black elders to come together and create a plan to rebuild Black Saint Louis.
Each one will play their role in addressing the vast needs and the way forward. That starts with preparing our people's hearts, minds, spirits, and bodies to withstand another storm.
Tory Russell Reporting Live From St. Louis,
Peace
Tory Russell is a Ferguson Uprising organizer, internationally recognized Black movement leader, speaker and political strategist. He currently serves as the Director of Organizing at the International Black Freedom Alliance. He has previously written and created content for NewsOne, such as iOne Digital's groundbreaking podcast series, 'Witness to History: Ferguson 10. '
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Op-Ed: A Tornado Just Destroyed Black St. Louis, It's Time For Black America To Unite was originally published on newsone.com
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