For the first two-and-a-half hours, the inaugural Ferguson Commission meeting passed without incident on Monday afternoon at the Ferguson Community Center.
Fourteen of the 16 individuals appointed by Gov. Jay Nixon sat before a crowd of more than 100 to work towards healing a community that came unhinged in August after the shooting death of 18-year-old unarmed teen Michael Brown Jr. at the hands of now former Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.
Their intention was to take the first step in building sustainable solutions towards restoring the community of Ferguson and North St. Louis County.
Young activist Rasheed Aldridge Jr. said he hopes to represent the voice of young people and push forward real systematic change.
“We’re tired of the same old talks,” he said through a video. “Hopefully I can provide some insight.”
Aldridge and fellow Commissioner Brittany Packnett, executive director of Teach For America St. Louis, were in Washington, D.C. meeting with President Obama regarding the Ferguson movement.
Each commissioner had an opportunity to share why they were on the commission and what they hoped the group would accomplish together.
“I’ve been living these issues my entire life,” Pastor Traci deVon Blackmon said. “I am here because I have two black sons.”
The pastors gave fervent calls for justice, while the other commissioners brought in their professional and personal experiences of why they wanted to help rebuild the community.
“I come to this work personally because of the progressive call of my son – a 9-year-old who every time he hears about Michael Brown his stomach starts to hurt,” said Ferguson Commission co-chair Rev. Starsky Wilson. “He does not know that that’s a manifestation of trauma that our entire community has gone through.”
The audience listened intently to topics ranging from Sunshine Law logistics to intentions, actions and practices they plan to see implemented as Rebeccah Bennett facilitated.
Guests were encouraged to anonymously post their hopes and concerns regarding the commission in two separate stations for post-it notes on the walls.
“I hope that police shoot to injure instead of shoot to kill,” one note read. “At one end we are moving away from capital punishment, and on the other end even before a fair assessment human beings are being killed.”
“My concern is The Ferguson Commission does not look like the community of Ferguson,” another note read. “I would like to see people under 30 years old to have a say and make decisions – someone who makes minimum wage and does not have gray hair.”
But not long after the group returned from a short break, there was a shift in the atmosphere.
“I would like to say that it’s 3:30 and this meeting is supposed to be over at five and a lot of us here have something to say,” a woman yelled out. “I understand this is about the commission, but this also is about the community.”
Her remark opened the floodgates of frustration, anger and tension that have become synonymous with Ferguson. It was 15 minutes before the floor was scheduled to be opened to the public, but there was no turning back.
“Most of y’all are not from Ferguson – and half of y’all haven’t even been to Ferguson,” said Anthony Levine, a Ferguson resident who has been on the front line of protests since day one. “This is a bunch of bull crap because you haven’t even spoke to the citizens.”
The woman who kicked off the public outcries added, “We are asking you to do what no one ever does – and that’s include the people you are always talking about.”
“We’ve never had a chance to say how we feel about what’s going on in our community,” said Dell Taylor, another Ferguson resident. “That’s what we came here to do.”
“People are tired of meeting to meet,” said Charles Wade, an activist from Austin, Texas who has been a key supporter of the movement. “And you’re going to see people keep coming to meeting after meeting and having public temper tantrums if you don’t address them.”
One business owner spoke of the trauma of their community’s being collateral damage in the unrest following St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert P. McCulloch’s announcement that a grand jury would not indict Wilson for Brown’s death.
“I put all I had into my business,” said Janiece Andrews, owner of Hidden Treasures Antique shop, which burned to the ground on November 24. “They are telling us to get loans, but I already had to get a loan after business slowed to a stop in August. My husband invested in my business. My sons invested in my business – and we lost everything.”
Angela Gordon, a nurse in the psychiatric ward of St. Anthony’s Hospital, was the first one to arrive at the meeting. She wanted to make sure she had an opportunity to read a statement she was compelled to write.
“When I went to work, me and my team had to work from a place of courage and bravery and not fear,” Gordon said. She talked about working with mentally ill men and being charged with the task of subduing large men when they were out of control.
“Sometimes the men were as big as 400 pounds, but it was a part of my training,” Gordon said. “Police officers need to preserve life at all cost – and not just their own.”
The members of commission listened intently as residents voiced their concerns. Each member present stayed until the very last person interested in offering thoughts, inquiries or solutions had a chance to voice their opinion. Some came into the crowd and sat with the audience.
“They are gunning down our babies – and disrespecting us,” Taylor said.
She was so overcome with emotion that Blackmon came to console her.
“We are hurting,” Taylor said. “Just let us talk and tell you – and then we can work together and help y’all fix it.”
The next Ferguson Commission Meeting will be held Monday, December 8. Time and location are presently TBA.
