On behalf of the 500-plus members of Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice, we want to congratulate the Reverend Dr. Starsky Wilson on his appointment to head the Children’s Defense Fund. This news is a loss to St. Louis, but a gain for children across America.
The Reverend Wilson provided courageous leadership as a co-chair of the Ferguson Commission in the sad months following the death of Michael Brown. He helped focus anger and pain to birth a plan to move St. Louis forward as a community in which a child’s Zip code does not determine their future.
The Reverend Wilson was also instrumental in the growth of Women’s Voices. In 2014 the Deaconess Foundation granted Women’s Voices a $5,000 seed grant to begin the Lock It for Love program. Through this program we have educated adults about the importance of safely storing firearms and have distributed more than 5,000 gun locks in the region, potentially saving the lives of many children.
In 2015, his church hosted “Remember, Reflect, Respond,” a vigil against gun violence. And, during the past two years, we have held numerous educational programs at the state-of the-art Deaconess Center for Child Well Being.
Women’s Voices Raised for Social Justice is deeply grateful for your contributions to the St. Louis community, Reverend Wilson. Please know that your spirit and presence live on in our continued efforts to build a community that values the lives of all children. Our work will be evidence of our gratitude for your leadership.
Ruth Ehrisman
St. Louis