About 250 community members gathered in Chesterfield on Sunday to celebrate the ousting of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Arrey Obenson, former CEO and president of the International Institute of St. Louis, resigned because of misaligned visions and goals. He said the institute’s position as a service provider for immigrants and refugees should be widened.

The memorial is meant to foster understanding and collective healing for the small Missouri town.

New refugee families are headed to St. Louis over the next few weeks. A local immigrant and refugee nonprofit is working with a national resettlement agency to help families get immediate housing, employment and other resources.

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is helping Black St. Louisans trace their roots as far back as possible. Staff members were in St. Louis this fall to teach people how to research genealogical archives and digitize old family recordings. Black St. Louisans want to help the next generation better understand their ancestry.

Much of Sugarloaf Mound will return to the Osage Nation, thanks to a recent land transfer. It’s the oldest man-made structure in St. Louis.

Religious leaders had challenged the state’s near-total ban on the grounds it contained explicitly religious language.

Across the nation, Black people have received racist text messages saying they have been “selected to pick cotton.” Black St. Louisans are furious about the texts, including St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones, whose son received one.

A message of sadness and resistance was echoed by more than a dozen Democratic state lawmakers who voted to keep Illinois one of the most welcoming states for immigrants.

Across the St. Louis region, many members of Alpha Kappa Alpha ended the presidential election season Tuesday at watch parties. Many Black sorority members say they want the country’s next president to expand women's rights, create economic security for Black Americans and support education reform.