First, let us say that we support unequivocally the stated mission and proposed work of the Ferguson Commission and want to do anything in our power to help the commissioners better communicate their efforts in addressing the deeply-entrenched, long-neglected problems underlying the crisis in Ferguson. While we share with many observers a great deal of skepticism about the usual outcome of commissions and generally doubt their ability to foster positive change, we commend Gov. Jay Nixon (he received 300 applications) for forming the commission and endorse many of the solid choices he made for the commission.
The governor rightly charged the commission to make recommendations across a broad range of concerns that include “police and community interactions and relations, racial and ethnic relations, disparities in education, economic opportunity and housing.”
Co-chair Rev. Starsky Wilson, in particular, has experience engaging with both civic leaders and front-line protestors and seems to have good rapport with his co-chair, Rich McClure, who has deep and wide access to St. Louis’ corporate and civic elite. They have worked together in the past on urban education issues. Among their fellow commissioners, the Rev. Traci Blackmon has credibility with the grass-roots protest movement and Brittany Packnett is a protest supporter that has worked tirelessly to aid in crafting the movement’s message and communicating it. Even closer to the ground, commissioner Rasheen Aldridge, 20, could be a poster youth for the protest movement – he is so close to the front lines that he has been charged for pushing a St. Louis city marshal at a St. Louis City Hall protest since he was appointed to serve by the Governor.
We met with the commission co-chairs on December 4 and would like to share publicly some of the conversation we had with Wilson and McClure and the assurances they gave us. We cautioned them that the Governor who formed their commission has had very little credibility in the African-American community, the community that will be most directly impacted by their work. They assured us that the commission is independent of the Governor and has independent operating funds that are administered by the United Way. Nixon formed the commission with $100,000 in discretionary state seed money, and the commission intends to raise an additional mix of private and public funds to conduct its business.
We cautioned them that the roots of the crisis in Ferguson date far before August 9, when an unarmed Michael Brown Jr., 18, was killed by a Ferguson police officer. The response from an infuriated community was spontaneous and has been undeterred since its beginning. This community awakening since the killing of Brown has been led by younger African Americans (who have been joined by others, in many cases) who are determined to bear witness to still another police killing and the suspect official reaction. The courage and persistent determination of these young people to make their voices heard helped spawn the beginning of a movement that has struck a chord and spread across the country and around the world. The protestors have been inventive and relentless in their insistence that justice be served in the Brown case and beyond.
We are in accord with the of words Governor Nixon, as he spoke in a different tone on November 18 when he swore in the 16 members of the Ferguson Commission at the Missouri History Museum. He said, “Their most important work will not be what is written on sheets of paper or on a website. Their most important work will be the changes we see in our institutions and our work places, in our communities and in our interactions with one another. Change of this magnitude is hard; but maintaining the status quo is simply not acceptable.” We are grateful to the protestors who have forced this conversation and are demanding this change.
Both co-chairs assured us that they understand the complexity and difficulty of their challenges and are prepared to work for change. “If the status quo worked,” the Rev. Wilson told us, “there wouldn’t be a Ferguson Commission at all. I want it to be clear, and I want us to be on the record saying that – if the status quo worked, we wouldn’t still be talking about August 9.”
