Spotlight: A Look at Literature in St. Louis

    KPLR, Channel 11
    Sundays at 9:30 am

    HEC Media’s Spotlight program airs every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on Channel 11, and showcases St. Louis’ finest contributions to art, education, and culture. In this week’s episode, airing Feb. 9, special focus is given to literature and art, documenting amazing stories about love, money, and bridging racial and educational gaps. (Click the titles below to watch the individual stories)

    Featured this Sunday on Spotlight:

    The Unlikely Romance of a Black Nurse and a German P.O.W. in World War II
    “Enemies in Love” is a book by journalist Alexis Clark that documents the incredible true story of a German POW and black Army nurse during World War II. She dives into the history of segregation in the military and the backgrounds of unlikely lovers Elinor Powell and Frederick Albert. Clark documents the struggles of their courtship and how their romance endured throughout the years. Listen to the podcast.

    Books N Bros
    EyeSeeMe is an educational bookstore in University City that primarily sells children’s books by black authors for black children. The intention of EyeSeeMe is to promote literacy to children by giving them a firm understanding of their identity, history, and culture. Inspired by the books he read at the store, Sidney Keys III founded Books N Bros, a reading club for boys 8-12. Statistically around this age, literacy rates drop for African-American males. Keys’ goal is to combat this statistic by encouraging literacy and friendship in a safe and inclusive environment.  Find out more about Eye See Me and Books N Bros.

    We Stories, Raising Big Hearted Kids
    In the effort to address issues of racism at young age, We Stories distributes books about diversity to parents meant to educate children about racial differences. The goal is to educate parents on how and when racial biases form, and how to best tackle the subject of racism before those biases develop.  Though most of the participants in the program are white, co-founder and executive director Laura Horwitz sees that as a good thing. We Stories gives parents the opportunity to have thought-provoking discussions about race and gives children the chance to understand different types of people.  Find out more about We Stories.

    Teaching Children Financial Literacy with “Savannah’s Savings Jar”
    “Savannah’s Savings Jar” is a new children’s book by former teacher Chelsea Addison. She came up with the idea of the book in order to educate children about money after one of her students confided in her about their financial insecurities. She wanted to develop a book that was effective in teaching kids the importance of savings, expenses, and making good decisions with money.  Addison includes many different characters of different races to show readers that everyone handles money regardless of race and to make the book easily identifiable.  Find out more about the Financial Friends Foundation.

    All Colors Returns to the Saint Louis Artists’ Guild
    The St. Louis Artists’ Guild is showing an exhibit called “All Colors” until February 29.  The exhibit will feature a collection of works from African-American artists from around the country with the goal to raise awareness of black artists and foster thought-provoking discussions through art. The Guild displays this exhibit annually and also raises funds to benefit other non-profits and student artist organizations.  Find out more about the Saint Louis Artists’ Guild.

    Schankman’s St. Louis: An Inspiring 90-Year-Old Tutor
    Miss E. Laine was involved with the Oasis Institute’s volunteer tutoring program for more than 20 years. She spent most of her time at Mason Ridge Elementary in Town and Country, where she taught her students fundamental lessons in academics and etiquette. Her teaching methods were well regarded among students and faculty alike, with many children requesting to be tutored by her.  Due to mobility issues she chose to retire at the end of the 2018/2019 school year at the age of 90.


    HEC is excited to put our high-quality, award-winning work on display every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on Channel 11. Tune in, set your DVRs, and stream all of our content free any time on hecmedia.org.