“They want to go back out to Canfield and protest,” Tef Poe told St. John United Church of Christ senior pastor Rev. Starsky Wilson on Saturday night. “I was gonna take the night off, but I’m down for whatever.”
Tef Poe was speaking of the Black Lives Matter riders, young people who had come to Ferguson from Los Angeles, New York and everywhere in between. Wilson allowed them to use his sanctuary for their temporary headquarters as the few hundred came together to support Ferguson protest efforts and demand justice.
At 11 p.m. Saturday night, the group expressed interest in going back to the Canfield Green Apartments – now known across the world as the site where unarmed teen Michael Brown was fatally shot by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson.
They had been in Canfield earlier in the day for several hours as part of the National March on Ferguson, but they were determined to return.
Church leader DeMarco Davidson informed Wilson. Wilson summoned Poe for counsel.
“I get that they want to be a part of the moment and history and all of that, but I don’t think they know what it could turn into at night,” Poe said. “Have they been trained?”
Poe talked with his hands and used body language to exclaim his point, as one might expect a rapper to do. As he stood across from the church, a beam from the streetlight hit the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tattoo on his upper left arm.
After most of the group said through a show of hands that they had not been trained, Poe called them. “Let’s get it,” Poe said, as they followed him back into the church for protest training – “Ferguson-style.”
If anyone could train them, it was Tef Poe.
“Tef has an authentic voice from the ground and a real love for the young people,” Wilson said. “I think he’s been called to this moment and the sort of leadership role that he’s in because of his authentic voice and his capacity for critical analysis.”
Wilson and Poe met in the midst of Trayvon Martin demonstrations last year.
“Tef was in relationship with young people before this moment,” Wilson said. “When he showed up on the scene August 9, they knew who he was. He was there and stayed. That continued presence, day and night, boded well for his authenticity.”
When Poe showed up at the Canfield Green Apartments on August 9, Michael Brown’s body had just been taken away by Ferguson police, more than four hours after he was shot dead.
“He saw what was going on around him and was compelled by the fact that there was still blood on the ground,” Wilson said. “And from the blood on the ground, he recognized a call that he had to do something.”
He witnessed family, friends and traumatized residents scrambling around Canfield trying to grasp what was happening.
Soon he was among those fighting off tear gas and looking down the barrels of assault rifles pointed at them by an overly aggressive, militarized police force as they attempted to peacefully protest.
And here he was Saturday night, playing protest trainer and tour guide as several dozen Black Lives Matter riders took to the streets of Ferguson to see for themselves the city that had captured an international audience for three weeks.
“This hasn’t changed him,” Wilson said. “More Twitter followers haven’t changed him. This is his commitment. This is who he is.”
Tef Poe is an acclaimed rapper who received major industry buzz with his latest project, “Cheer for the Villain.” He’s also a contributing writer for The Riverfront Times.
His record of publicly speaking out against injustices and holding young people to a higher standard speaks for itself.
Poe urged young people to get out to vote both times the presidency was at stake for Barack Obama. He stood behind Lewis Reed as he vied for mayor and participated in voter registration drives and rallies on Reed’s behalf. He marched in memory of Trayvon Martin.
And in Ferguson, Poe was a general on the front lines – often seen holding a megaphone that was used to lead chants, offer direction and usher protesters in the direction of safety.
Poe was a mainstay on West Florissant before taking his demonstrations to the Wainwright Building, where the State of Missouri has offices, and to Clayton, where County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch’s office is located.
“He’s made the strategic decision to take his protests to places of power versus a place of pain,” Wilson said. “That shows the mind of a strategist and someone trying to get something done for the long haul and not someone caught up in the moment.”
Through social media and appearances on national and international news, Poe and a handful of other young leaders – including state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal, St. Louis Alderman Antonio French and Ferguson Committeewoman Patricia Bynes – have emerged onto the world stage from within the movement.
“The only reason we are still talking about Michael Brown and the only reason we are still talking about Ferguson is because of young people who decided that they weren’t going to let it go,” Wilson said. “Those young people are following Tef’s leadership, so I’m following Tef’s leadership.”
