As previously reported, McKee built a private three-bed medical facility near Downtown St. Louis and called it Homer G. Phillips Hospital. He refused to meet with or seek the approval of the Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni organization to use the copyrighted name.
What's at stake, say the former nurses, is the commercialization for the private gain of the legacy of African Americans.
The Change the Name Coalition supports the Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni and the lawsuit to protect the copyright and removal of the name of Homer G. Phillips from the 3-bed privately-owned facility. A GoFundMe account has been established to support this lawsuit.
Jobyna Foster, who served as Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni president from 2018 to 2021, said the legal battle came after trying to work with McKee on a substitute name.
“We suggested that another name be used on the three-bed facility, like ‘Northside Health Center’ be used. The next thing we knew the name of ‘Homer G. Phillips’ was put on there and no one had mentioned it to our organization,” Foster said.
“They can use some other name or go back to the name that they had originally used on that facility, as they were doing business with the Alderwoman Sharon Tyus.”
According to Foster and Walle Amusa of the Change the Name Coalition, McKee has not answered any of requests to meet in person, by phone, or by email.
“You cannot just take any information or any article or whatever out of a community without consulting with the members of the community,” Foster said.
“For instance, you cannot go over on The Hill or any other community and take anything out of those communities without consulting with the residents or the organizations of those communities.
Foster said the name seems to be trademarked on the sign next to the three-bed facility, but that only the Alumni organization holds the copyright to the “Homer G. Phillips” name.
“It's not registered with the state and certainly our attorney would have indicated that [to us] before she issued our trademark or filed for our trademark.”
Amusa said, “The Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni Incorporated have the copyright that Mr. Paul McKee has basically violated in his attempt to commercialize a part of African American history.”
The Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni first served the hospital and now the community for almost 100 years. Its precursor organization, the Black Nurse Association, was created in 1921, according to Amusa.
“At the segregated City Hospital in St. Louis, the Black Nurses Association changed its name to Homer G. Phillips Nurses Alumni Association after Homer G. Phillips Hospital was built. They have a copyright on the name, “Homer G. Phillips,” and Mr. Paul McKee has refused to meet with people in the community,” Amusa said.
“He has basically stolen the name, [put it] on the three-bed clinic that is located on Jefferson Avenue and Cass Avenue.”
The Nurses Alumni hired two copyright lawyers to represent their case in federal court; Change the Name Coalition is supporting the efforts of the organization to remove the historic name from the medical facility
“The Coalition is completing some fundraising strictly to support the lawsuit that the Nurses Alumni filed against Paul McKee and his organizations,” Amusa said.
“The Alumni is suing to basically ask for Mr. Paul McKee to change the name because they did not ask for permission from the association before, they used the name, and since they have a copyright there now, Paul McKee is now in violation of using it without permission, legally without permission.”
According to Amusa, a trial has been set for January 8, 2024.
A GoFundMe account has been established to support this lawsuit. Please visit Fundraiser by The Change The Name Coalition : WE NEED YOUR HELP IN SAVING OUR NAME (gofundme.com)