By Bridjes O’Neil Of The St. Louis American
Participants on the NAACP’s “Journey for Justice” march concluded their 134-mile trek from Ferguson to Jefferson City on Friday, seeking systemic change to the criminal justice system and justice for Michael Brown Jr. The march began a week before in the Canfield Green neighborhood where unarmed teen Michael Brown Jr. was shot and killed by now former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.
The culminating rally had to be moved indoors to the State Capitol Rotunda due to rain. Former Sen. Maida Coleman spoke at yesterday’s rally as a representative of the Governor – who was traveling. Coleman was recently appointed by the Governor to serve as director of the Office of Community Engagement. Brown’s mother and step-father, Lesley McSpadden and Louis Head, also spoke.
“They thanked us for the work we were doing and we reaffirmed our commitment to work with them on getting some justice,” said St. Louis City NAACP President Adolphus Pruitt.
Many packed into the State Capitol Rotunda including a “good contingency” of young Ferguson protestors, Pruitt said.
Gov. Jay Nixon said in a statement on Friday that he was honored to have met with the leadership of the nation’s oldest and largest civil rights organization on Wednesday, Dec. 3. That evening, Gov. Nixon met with NAACP President Cornell Brooks in his office in the Capitol. The Governor invited Brooks and other national and state NAACP leaders to meet with him and key members of his administration including Coleman, Dan Isom, director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety, and Marvin Teer of the Office of Community Engagement.
“Through honest dialogue and mutual respect, I’m confident that together we can make meaningful change to address the challenges underlying the events in Ferguson, and build a future of greater peace, opportunity and fairness for all,” Gov. Nixon said of the meeting in a release.
Pruitt said the meeting went fairly well and said Nixon seemed sincere in his efforts to help move the St. Louis region forward. NAACP leaders discussed with Gov. Nixon their discontent with the “flawed” grand jury process that failed to indict Officer Wilson in Brown’s death and Pruitt said they continued their call for a special prosecutor. Pruitt said the group also met with MO Attorney General Chris Koster.
“He also agrees that this is a moment in time where we all need to get it right and make sure we address the long-term problems,” he said of Koster.
Pruitt reflected on their march through Linn, Missouri by phone late Thursday evening.
“It’s been a long day,” he said. “We’ve been dealing with a lot of stuff. Linn, Missouri was a lot like Rosebud.”
They were greeted with the words “Shoot Thieves” spray-painted on a large barrel outside of Rosebud. While their bus was stopped and empty, someone shot at a window and shattered the glass. Some townsfolk left out 40-ounce beer cans, chicken wings and watermelon. In Linn, townsfolk held signs defending Officer Wilson and defaming Michael Brown.
Andrew McFadyen-Ketchum, a white adjunct professor at the University of Colorado and former activist, said he flew in from Denver to St. Louis to participate in the march.
“These guys embraced me,” McFadyen-Ketchum said. “I don’t know how I’m going to go home after this and have my normal life without a community of people. We have bonded in a way that I’ve never bonded with anyone before.”
In Rosebud, McFadyen-Ketchum said they encountered “hardcore” racism and counted at least three people out of several hundred that supported the group.
“I really didn’t realize that people were that racist,” he said.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol, with the exception of one day, followed marchers along Route 50. Pruitt said he was glad to have an extra pair of eyes monitoring the situation in case things got tense.
Despite encountering an overwhelming negative response from some on their journey to the State Capitol, Pruitt applauded those that came out to support their efforts.
“The fact that we found them all along the route demonstrated to us that not only was this march needed, but that there’s support throughout the state – even in rural Missouri – for the issues we in the urban areas have been protesting,” Pruitt said.
Follow this reporter on Twitter: @BridjesONeil