Terry Kennedy is a Democratic Party politician, former activist, journalist, and primary-secondary school teacher in St. Louis, Missouri. He was a long-term member of the Board of Aldermen where he spearhead the passing of a Civilian Oversight Board as the powerful chairperson of the Public Safety Committee. He is departing as an alderman to become Clerk of the Board of Aldermen.
Early life and family
Kennedy's father was from East St. Louis, Illinois and escaped the 1917 race riots with his family. The family house was fired upon and mobs attempted to torch it. The family was forced to escape out a window and his grandmother built a raft to cross the Mississippi River because the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department was initially blocking African-American transit on the bridges to prevent victims escaping to St. Louis. His mother's family, the Johnson's, have been in the region since 1720. They were transported to the area when Philip François Renault settled with 500 Africans from Saint-Domingue. His grandparents spoke Creole and his mother French and English. Kennedy graduated from Vashon High School in north St. Louis, where he was chair of the Black Students Union. He studied architecture at St. Louis Community College–Forest Park and the University of Missouri–St. Louis but changed paths during the course of these studies. He moved to Washington, D.C. and earned a degree in journalism from Howard University in 1978. Kennedy was a public school teacher following university, where, among other subjects, he taught Swahili. He wrote for St. Louis Argus and the Negro Association newspapers. Kennedy's twin brother was a drummer in Katherine Dunham's dance company and was a student of Mor Thiam, father of Akon. Kennedy's aunt was a music teacher of Miles Davis who helped his cousin Shirley Horn into the jazz industry and who was mentor to Roberta Flack. Kennedy's activism began as a child. As an adult he worked on campaigns of racial justice and desegregation, the Anti-Apartheid Movement, to free Angela Davis, on community development, and did employment placement/job readiness work. Hitherto working outside the political system he was persuaded to pursue political office.
Political career
Kennedy was first elected to the Board of Aldermen by a narrow margin in 1989, shortly after the death of his father, Sam Kennedy, who had been in office for 21 years. Kennedy represents the 18th Ward. He first pushed a bill for civilian oversight of the police in 2005 and it passed the city legislature in 2006 but was vetoed by Mayor Francis Slay. Following the foment of the Ferguson Uprisingten years later, an oversight bill finally passed in 2015. It gained subpoena power in the aftermath of the 2017 St. Louis protests. In November 2018, President of the Board of Aldermen Lewis E. Reed announced that the board unanimously elected Kennedy as its next Clerk. Kennedy plans to resign upon the searing in of his successor, after 30 years in office. He will be the first Black person to hold the position. He also vice-chairs the Engrossment Rules, Resolutions and Credentials committee and is on the Housing, Urban Development and Zoning, Legislation, and Personnel and Administration committees. In March 2019, Jesse Todd, who Kennedy supported, won a hotly contested 5-way primary election.
