On Tuesday, October 21, Governor Jay Nixon announced a Ferguson Commission to study and address the socioeconomic issues underlying the unrest following the killing of Michael Brown Jr. by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson on August 9.
While Nixon said the commission, whose members have not been appointed, would not investigate the killing, the group would have the full authority and resources of his office at its disposal.
“While the issues that arose here were sparked by what happened in Ferguson, the challenges we face are broader than that,” Nixon said. “While I will work to make sure there are folks from that smaller geographic area reflected, it’s really important to have the whole region.”
Nixon said he is looking for people from all walks of life for the 15-member commission, including “ordinary citizens, as well as empowered leaders in business, education, public safety and our faith communities who are willing to serve their state when it needs them the most.”
The work of the commission will take some time, Nixon explained, as it will look at socioeconomic factors, education, population trends and other data. However, changes could be implemented along the way.
“If there are good, substantive ideas that come forth during the process, then you want to go ahead and go with those instead of waiting until the very end,” Nixon said.
Nixon will announce the names of commission members next month. He said its members will need to talk candidly and openly about race and other explosive issues that have been decades in the making.
“Make no mistake: there will be anger and conflict, fear and distrust,” Nixon said. “The enemies of change will not easily yield to reasoned voices calling for a stronger, more united region.”
Critics from the Ferguson protest movement claimed on social media that the governor’s actions are meant to pacify the African-American community if the St. Louis County grand jury decides not to indict Wilson. Nevertheless, Nixon said he hopes to reach youth with the commission.
“We are going to look for both an informal way to get their input and a formal way, so that we can make sure that younger folks have a real opportunity to buy into playing a productive role in making this region better,” Nixon said.
Nixon said Maida Coleman, director of the governor’s new Office of Community Engagement, will work closely with the commission.
St. Louis Alderman Antonio French – whose North Campus project was a recent recipient of state funds for tutoring, in partnership with the University of Missouri-St. Louis – said he is “hopeful” that the commission will lead to action.
“It will come down to the voices that are on the commission and how focused they remain during the period of their meeting,” French said. “It’s important to bring as many different perspectives together in order to have those kinds of conversations that very rarely are had in St. Louis.”
The front-line protestors, however – whose needs Nixon claimed to be addressing – were far from hopeful.
Ashley Yates, one of the more visible young protest leaders, tweeted that Nixon’s announcement exemplified “the overwhelming intoxication of privilege.”
“The audacity of Jay Nixon to convene a commission to tell him what the people, his constituents, have been saying for 70 days,” Yates tweeted. “The whole damn SYSTEM is guilty as HELL!”
The application form for nominations for the Ferguson Commission is located at http://www.mo.gov/ferguson-commission/application.
