There has been a river of tears since the EF3 tornado hit the St. Louis area on May 16.

Tears are still being shed by the families who were victimized by the fury of Mother Nature, and also the friends and volunteers who came to their rescue.

My moment came a week later in the ruins of a ravaged Northside neighborhood.

It wasn’t just the utter devastation. I’ve witnessed disasters including the Great Flood of 1993 here and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans.

What upset me is the overwhelming reality of a potential, half-hearted governmental response to the unfolding tsunami of suffering.

St. Louis has many bright people who are constrained by the suffocating web of racist, archaic systems. Our city is a reluctant learner, which rarely benefits from lessons of the past.

I’m a Sankoka wo

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