Dr. Tiffany Gholson had seen crime impact her small American city of East Saint Louis, Illinois, in many ways. By 2023, however, the town recorded a 31 percent drop in homicides and a 37 percent drop in crime overall. What happened? A partnership. Working together, the city’s Public Safety Enforcement Group—including the state and city police, the city school district, and a faith organization—combined efforts to turn the tide for all citizens.
Director Dr. Tiffany Gholson, said the program started in January after receiving an $800,000 grant from the State of Illinois to help with trauma recovery services for youth. The wellness center offers everything from mental health, financial, and legal support for free. Learn More
East St. Louis Flyers and the Edwardsville Tigers Special Olympics basketball teams faced off for the first time. The districts are working on inclusion efforts to become a Special Olympics Unified Champion School through Special Olympics Illinois. Learn More
EAST ST. LOUIS – It is a one-stop shop for families in the East St. Louis School District. It’s called the "Family and Community Engagement Center."
“I want them to feel not judged,” said Dr. Tiffany Gholson, the Director of Parent and Student Support Services. “I want them to feel welcomed." Learn More
I created a video as a counter-narrative on black male students for our High School's Black History Month Celebration in 2014. The joint video featured twenty juniors and seniors from the two neighboring high schools there as a way to counter the negative images of young African-American males in the media. The students affirmed the following in a video highlighting their successes of young black males instead. We were quoted as saying “The negative stories told daily in the media and in our culture about our young African-American men tend to ignore their successes and don't tell the full story about how young Black men are becoming leaders within our community schools. In this video, our students reclaim the narrative of who they are and inspire other students to follow in their footsteps."
I don’t know what it is about me but people enjoy telling me their stories. Last night, I was sitting on a rock at Montrose beach with some friends listening to reggae music and eating dirty rice when the young man next to me kept trying to engage in dialogue. He said he loved sitting out here away from everything, peaceful, and that he drives up here weekly even though he lives on the Southside.
Special event and advocacy project for black males in Champaign, Illinois.
A Counter-Narrative on Black Male Students: At Central High School's Black History Month Celebration, the Central and Centennial High School African-American Clubs released a joint video countering the negative images of young African-American males in the media.
