Ferguson Councilman Dwayne James has a brown dog that sits by his desk when he works at home.
Having a dog is a not an isolating activity, especially when it’s a vocal one like Aggie. Because of Aggie, James walks the city sidewalks almost every day and sees the crumbling ones that aren’t friendly to every city resident. He passes by vacant lots that almost glare at him.
At one time, he was traveling outside the city to go to a dog park and realized that many other Ferguson residents were wasting gas doing the same thing.
However, since James became councilman in 2007, he has helped develop numerous initiatives to make Ferguson a more sustainable and environmentally friendly city.
“I want to make sure we’re sustainable as far as keeping our residents happy,” he said – “that they don’t want to leave for whatever reason.”
At Ferguson’s Pesto Festo event on November 7, James will receive a mission award from the nonprofit EarthDance Farms, for not turning a cheek to the city’s eyesores and helping Ferguson become a city that people want to live in.
James helped build the city’s only dog park, revamp the sidewalks, develop the LiveWell Ferguson initiative to promote health living, and pass an ordinance that makes the city a more environmentally friendly place.
As the only African-American councilman in a city with a 52 percent black population, he also brings his experience of PROUD – People Reaching Out for Unity and Diversity – not only to the City Council, but also to the LiveWell initiatives.
“PROUD is partnering with other organizations to bring that conversation to a higher scale,” he said. “It’s bigger than just the race issue.”
He said it’s also about making sure that the elderly and youth are included in city initiatives.
Being an environmental activist has not always been James’ role, particularly in city government. As a structural engineer at Jacobs Engineering Group, James has always felt his expertise for the council was in city planning and design.
Yet last year, two council members, who were leading the city’s environmental and health initiatives, couldn’t go to an environmental conference for city governments in Seattle.
So, “I just got thrown in,” he said.
He came back transformed.
He heard speeches about why it was good to get people back on the streets instead of driving everywhere they went.
“I was guilty,” he said. “I’d be in my home, going to a community meeting and what would I do? Two minutes before I had to be there, I’d jump in my car and drive there.”
When he came back to Ferguson, the council immediately got to work on the Complete Streets ordinance, which passed November last year. The ordinance states an intention to design, build and maintain streets in a way that accommodates all users – seniors, persons with disabilities, children, pedestrians, cyclists, transit-users and cars.
This February, James led the council in passing a Resolution and Environmental Ordinance.
The new ordinance requires the City to develop, implement and maintain a plan to reduce energy usage by at least 30 percent and waste generated by 20 percent within the next five years.
“The government is going to be stretched a little bit by changing some policies that we’ve become accustomed to, but that’s what an environmental ordinance is supposed to do,” he said.
“We’re supposed to get out of our comfort zone and see what’s best for everyone involved.”
One of the best parts about creating the initiative was the process. The council didn’t want to force everyone to enroll, but create the structure and activities for people to participate freely.
James’ family didn’t teach him to be aggressively demanding.
“My family’s one that speaks their mind – gives direction, but gives it lovingly,” he said.
James remembers when he was in college and made the decision to get an earring. He got a call from every one of his four aunts that day, saying, “Do you know that if you get this earring, it might hurt you in a job interview? We’re not saying that you can’t do it, but do you understand that?”
James said he often just feels like a bridge to meeting the community’s requests. Residents came to him, asking to transform the vacant lots into vibrant community gardens, and now they have two gardens. James acknowledges the Mueller Farm, the oldest organic farm in Missouri, as an inspiration to the neighborhood for community gardens.
The EarthDance Farms organization formed last year, when it honored the Mueller Farm at its Pesto Festo event and started an organic farming training program on Caroline Mueller’s land. This year, the organization will honor four people who have dedicated themselves to making the city of Ferguson a sustainable community, through food, art, relationships and music.
James represents the “relationships” part of sustainability.
“People have given me an education, advice, money, knowledge,” he said, “and I know I have to give a little of that back.”