“Story Stitchers has helped Brown navigate his feelings about police violence by having open and honest conversations about his feelings and expressing those feelings through his art”
On Aug. 9, 2014, the St. Louis region was rocked to its core after the killing of Michael Brown Jr. at the hands of former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson. Communities across the city and county lines were faced with the truth about systemic racism that had boiled over into the streets of the small North County suburb of Ferguson.
For 10 years, grassroots organizations and local activists have put their boots on the ground – literally and figuratively – to undo decades of systemic oppression that have crippled Black and brown communities across the region.
Local youth organization Story Stitchers is honoring Michael Brown Jr. at its 10th annual Youth Empowerment Summit from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. August 9 at the Zack Theater.
Over the years artists have built an archive of Black voices from 2014 about Ferguson and Michael Brown Jr.’s death. The summit, which is for ages 15 through 25, is a four-hour program that celebrates the five pillars of Hip-Hop–the five pillars are MCing, DJing, Graffiti, Knowledge, and Breaking Graffiti with Stan Chisholm, MC-ing with DJ Ntegrity, DJ-ing with BlueBeatz, and Breaking with Domo and Rich Grzelka. The knowledge part of the program is dedicated to Michael Brown Jr. and his family. There will be an overview of what happened on Aug. 9, to explain to the teens who were young kids 10 years ago how Brown’s death helped shape the narrative of living in a post-racial era.
Keith Brown, a Central Visual Performing Arts High School senior, loves the music and dance programs Story Stitchers offers. He describes it as a place where he can express his art. The aspiring Hip-Hop and Jazz dancer thinks there is a disconnect between Black youth and the police. He was taught not to interact with law enforcement, that they wouldn’t protect him, and that he couldn’t trust them. “I know not all police are bad, but some of my peers don’t understand that,” he said. He wants to help bridge that gap between police and young people.
Story Stitchers invited local law enforcement to the summit. The Knowledge section of the program will be a live, recorded episode of StitchCast Studio with Officer Rodney Hickman from St. Louis Metropolitan Police and Dr. Julie Gary, City of St. Louis Department of Health, and a Q&A with youth. “This will help both sides get a better understanding of the rights, roles, and responsibilities of both citizens and police officers,” said Youth Artistic Coordinator, Branden Lewis. After seeing what happened to Micheal Brown Jr. and George Floyd, this gave John House IV a negative impression about police officers. The recent Metro Academic and Classical High School graduate grew up around police officers and knows there are good ones out there. “But the bad ones mess it up for the good cops,” he said, describing his relationship with law enforcement. To help bridge the gap between law enforcement and youth, House would like to see police officers in something like a Youtube show to highlight their everyday lives and demonstrate that they are also regular people.
Story Stitchers has helped Brown navigate his feelings about police violence by having open and honest conversations about his feelings and expressing those feelings through his art. Lewis says it’s a healthy way for young artists to express their emotions, it teaches them how to confront their feelings.
“We believe artistic expression is therapeutic,” he said. Lewis felt overwhelmed during those times of unrest in Ferguson, paraphrasing activist and artist Nina Simone he said, “ I think an artist’s duty is to reflect the times they’re in.” He knew the best way he could do that was by writing a poem. “Mike Brown Jr. wasn’t the first Mike Brown Jr. and he’s not the last,” he said, referencing the continued killings of unarmed Black and brown people. His poem ‘Worthless’ highlights how society views Black and brown bodies.
“Art is our form of resilience and strength,” said Lewis. Story Stitchers have collaborated with artists on music storytelling, neighborhood block party performances, public service announcement campaigns, and multi-year signature projects focusing efforts on high-quality art and innovative youth violence prevention programs. In 10 years, with your help, we have brought $792,795 national dollars home to St. Louis to support young artists and artists of color in building bridges to peace for all.”
Ashley Winters is a Report for America reporter for the St. Louis American.