Your dad’s secret past will blow your mind

Look—I'm gonna be real with you. We talk a lot about the big stuff, the Cardinals, the Blues, the *trauma* of the Rams leaving. But sometimes, it's the quiet stories, the ones you almost miss, that truly show you what this city is built on. I saw this story about Rabbi Jim Goodman, and how his dad, a survivor of the Holocaust, was saved by a "Sugihara visa." Now, I'm not gonna pretend I knew what that was before reading this. But it’s wild. This Japanese diplomat, Chiune Sugihara, went against orders and issued thousands of visas to Jewish refugees trying to escape the Nazis. Think about that for a minute. One man, doing what he knew was right, even when it meant risking everything.

And because of that one man, Rabbi Goodman's father made it to America, eventually settled here in St. Louis, and became a cornerstone of our community. That's the thing about this city, man. People come here from all over, seeking refuge, building new lives. You walk through the Hill, you see the Italian heritage, you go up to the Ville, you feel the history of Black St. Louis, and you realize this place is a tapestry. It's not always perfect, we got our divisions, but it's built on these individual acts of courage, these quiet stories of survival and resilience. It reminds you that we're all connected, and that history, real history, is right here, walking among us, down Grand Avenue, over in Forest Park, everywhere.

That’s the Lou — we're still here and we're not leaving.

My man Keith and the crew dive into stories like this every morning—don't miss it live at mornings.live.