St. Louis Activists Self-Deploy After a Devastating EF3 Tornado Ripped Through the City
On May 16, 2025, an EF3 tornado ripped through an unprepared and unwarned St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis Mag reports that the tornado left at least “...five dead, dozens injured, an estimated 5,000 buildings damaged, and roughly 90,000 people without power.”
A tornado’s destruction is directly tied to Environmental Racism. Only an hour after the tornado hit, Ohun Ashe, of For the Culture STL, and Kayla Reed, of Action St. Louis self-deployed and drove around passing out water, food, supplies, and materials to people who had been hit hardest: the city’s most underserved communities in the North and West parts of the city. It was on that drive when they realized they needed to rally the greater St. Louis community to help these parts of the city recover, rebuild, and heal. The People’s Response is a collaborative effort born from their literal (and metaphorical) drive as well as their friendship.
For nearly two weeks without a day off, The People’s Response continues to motivate thousands of community members to self-deploy as emergency responders collecting and re-distributing food, water, tarps, diapers, and other essential resources to those in dire need.
“Mike Brown Jr. revitalized movement work & activism in a loud and unapologetic way. Folks from all over watched us go toe-to-toe with a militarized police force and it sent a spark through this nation to mobilize no matter what. Our (St.Louis community) response to this tornado relief is going to have the same impact. Community is the one mobilizing to save lives and neighborhoods right now with no real assistance from government. Not saying we’re the first to do it, just saying we amplify change. We’re not the Show Me CITY for nothing.” — Ohun Ashe, Founder of For the Culture STL
““Mike Brown Jr. revitalized movement work & activism in a loud and unapologetic way. Folks from all over watched us go toe-to-toe with a militarized police force and it sent a spark through this nation to mobilize no matter what...Community is the one mobilizing to save lives and neighborhoods right now with no real assistance from government.””
Ohun Ashe explains in a video posted to Tik Tok that The People’s Response have been showing up everyday from 10am-3pm at the O’Fallon Park YMCA parking lot to organize volunteers and redistribute supplies like hygiene kits, bottled water, house kits, and going directly into the community to clean up debris and ensure that these parts of St. Louis are not abandoned at this time of absolute crisis.
Their efforts remain unyielding because people are still without power and roofs over their head. Many have been forced to sleep in their cars and others have even been sent eviction notices.
Despite Mayor Cara Spencer erasing The People’s Response’s immediate mutual aid, community care and ongoing dedicated labor, their collosus efforts won’t be denied, forgotten, or swept under the rug. It is because of these Black women (as it always has been) that St. Louis will recover and rebuild stronger than ever.
To learn more, donate, and volunteer visit: https://actionstl.org/tornado
Here at Terra Incognita Media we have 9 leftover shirts from last year’s “Stop Glorifying John Muir” t-shirt campaign. 50% of these sales will go directly to The People’s Response.
Go here to purchase your shirt and help support re-building our beautiful city.
