Nine Public Media has facilitated local conversations within the community that explored the many issues brought into public discourse in the wake of Michael Brown’s death. That dialogue continued Sunday at the national level with PBS’ presentation of “America After Ferguson.”
“The events in Ferguson on Aug. 9—only a few minutes from where we gather tonight—were not an anomaly,” said Gwen Ifill, PBS Newshour co-anchor and Washington Week managing editor. “From Los Angeles to Cincinnati, they explode time and again.”
Ifill moderated the sold-out town hall—taped at the Touhill Performing Arts Center on the campus of the University of Missouri – St. Louis. Brown’s family declined to participate. Rev. Traci Blackmon of Christ the King United Church of Christ said none of us will ever be the same after Ferguson.
Blackmon said ongoing community unrest in Ferguson resonates with her, not only as a pastor, but as a mother of two “black” sons in their 20s, adding that she knows how it feels to be targeted and not heard. She said contrasting versions of Ferguson, St. Louis, and the country, exist.
Former Mayor of Ferguson Brian Fletcher said Ferguson has been unfairly portrayed as a “suburban ghetto” and argued that the city is one of the most “progressive” in the country. Fletcher, who began the ‘I Love Ferguson’ campaign and serves as committee chairman, said Ferguson can come through this tragedy a better city and serve as a model for the rest of the country.
Ifill recalled seeing iconic photographs of U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill during protests engaging with Ferguson residents.
“It was hard not to feel the pain,” McCaskill said.
She said she was disturbed to see such a strong military presence against a group of peaceful protesters exercising their First Amendment rights. In terms of exercising rights, she said there needs to be a greater contingent of young African-Americans making decisions for their communities by serving on city councils and school boards. In Ferguson, Dwayne T. James is the only African-American council member.
“America After Ferguson” expanded beyond local circles to include national thought leaders in areas of law enforcement, race and civil rights, as well as government officials, faith leaders and youth. Phillip B. Agnew, executive director of Dream Defenders, said it is not enough to have a city council representative that looks like you.
“They have to come from and know the issues of the community,” he said. “Then, it’s folks in the community that have to remind them everyday that we pay your bills.”
Agnew, along with others, said he founded Dream Defenders following the death of Trayvon Martin to combat systems of police oppression, racial profiling, school to prison pipelines, and wars on the poor and immigrant communities.
“There is a gulf there,” said former President Bill Clinton in a pre-taped sit-down interview with Ifill. “We have to bridge those gulfs.”
At the town hall, Ifill referenced a recent Post-Dispatch article citing a Kansas City-based Remington Research Group poll. The poll showed a stark racial divide among blacks and whites in St. Louis County. Seventy-seven percent of whites surveyed said they did not believe that Brown was targeted because of his race while 64 percent of African Americans disagreed.
Local rapper and activist Tef Poe spoke of an incident in which he had a pistol pulled on him and said responding officers treated like he was the criminal. He said racism did not die with the civil rights leaders Martin Luther King and Malcom X After Ferguson, Tef Poe said he has “zero” faith in local police and a severe case of “animosity and mistrust.”
“I would rather die and go to hell than to be arrested by St. Louis police officers,” Tef Poe said.
The one-hour program produced by WGBH in partnership with the Nine Network (KETC) will broadcast on PBS on Friday, September 26 at 7:00 PM.
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