Humans of St. Louis
I have had the honor of being a storyteller with Humans of St. Louis [HOSTL], a nonprofit that is intentionally grounded in social work, public health, and documentary photography. HOSTL goes out in the streets to give “an intimate look into the lives and struggles of the people of St. Louis, one photo and story at a time.”
HOSTL has collaborated with several organizations that want to highlight the people that play an integral part in the organization’s work. Here you’ll find a selection of the photographs and stories I captured in partnership with the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum and Generate Health STL.
“I’m in an active relationship with my ancestors. I think of myself not in singular ways, but in the context of lineage. I was raised with three generations: myself, my mother, and my grandmother. My elders did a really good job of keeping the preceding generations alive for me and passing along a sense of responsibility and connection to family. This is important because I have children of my own. And while grandbabies are not yet a reality, I already feel connected to the next generations waiting to be born. I understand myself as a bridge between those who came before and those who have yet to arrive: ‘Oh, you look just like your Aunt so-and-so. You sound just like such and such. Your great-grandmother or great-grandfather used to be that way.’ I am in awe of my ancestors because they sacrificed, built, resisted, and loved beyond limits. They made me a beneficiary of opportunities they never lived to see but hoped and prayed for. They also bequeathed to me an extraordinary spiritual power and emotional resilience. And, like for most, they’re really important to me because they let me know I come from somewhere and didn’t just spontaneously generate out of the ether. I come from a context that’s too big to be destroyed.”
- Rebeccah Bennett, Founder of Emerging Wisdom, InPower Institute & the Black Healers Collective, and 2020 Generate Health STL Judy Wilson-Griffin Maternal Health Equity Champion
Learn more about Rebeccah’s story here.
“In a part of East Africa, instead of asking, ‘How are you?,’ they will say, ‘How are the children?’ because the community could not be healthy or well if the children weren’t. We do what it takes to care for our children. However many of them we have, we love them fully, brilliantly, and completely. We stand on the wall and we say 'this far and no further’ to the forces that would interfere with their wellbeing or destroy them and their sense of self.”
- Rebeccah Bennett, Founder of Emerging Wisdom, InPower Institute & the Black Healers Collective, and 2020 Generate Health STL Judy Wilson-Griffin Maternal Health Equity Champion
Learn more about Rebeccah’s story here.
“I have to treat the women at Queen of Peace better than they treat me all the time. When I was going to school, I was cross-eyed and had these big buck teeth. Kids used to make fun of me and I was bullied. My mother told me, ‘Just treat people better than they treat you.’ So, I smiled and never bullied people. I try to use that with the ladies here, too, and it’s not easy because with the lifestyle they live it’s all about surviving. I hope to help them thrive and teach them how to be better. And not just by telling them, but by example. Before working here, I was a manager at Subway. And, before that, I had managers, like Dorothy Crawford, who believed in me and gave me more responsibilities. They saw my worth and growth. They birthed me. I wasn’t able to get the type of education I wanted because a lot of things were happening in my family. I was married and couldn’t get the money together either. So my life experiences are what I held on to and I learned from. They’re what strengthened me. That and my mom saying, ‘You can do anything you want to do. You just have to map it out and take your time.’ No matter how old I am, my mom still supports me and calls me every day. If I could, I would give her an award for being supportive and surviving so much. I would title that award ‘She Who Strengthens Me.’”
- Angela Ross, Queen of Peace Center House Manager and 2020 Generate Health STL Alderman Gregory Carter Community Champion
Learn more about Angela’s story here.
“We need to restore a sense of compassion, love, and kindness in healthcare. My parents showed me what love is, so if something comes up, I also know how to say, ‘That’s not what I need.’ Ya know, I work with a lot of women and teenagers caught in sex trafficking and that usually starts from some type of trauma. I remember the first time I teared up when I walked out of a patient’s room. She was a young, Black girl who was a sex worker and needed surgery. After rounds, I told the team I wanted to go back to talk to her. I always feel like if I get to know somebody, it helps to take care of them. We started talking about church, finding a home in the church, spiritual support, and it was a good conversation. She said she was brought up in the church, so I was encouraging her to return. Then she hit me with something that I’ve never forgotten though: How could she return to church when some of the people there had also hurt her? I didn’t know how to respond. So, I listened to her and I heard her story. I felt her pain. And in just knowing the way she explained things to me, it was like that was the norm. After sharing some more intimate things, she asked me to pray with her. Sometimes, as doctors, it’s said that you can’t do that. Yes, I may wear a white coat and have an MD behind my name, but I’m human.”
- Kanika A. Turner, MD, MPH, Family Care Health Center and 2020 Generate Health STL Dr. Corinne Walentik Provider/Practitioner Champion
Learn more about Kanika’s story here.