The girl on the left was supposed to start first grade in Ferguson today.
The girl on the right did get to start first grade today.
It was hard to be focused on my own kid this morning. There is just so much wrong.
When this little girl protesting showed up my twitter feed, I sort of lost it.
The injustice of the Mike Brown killing by police has been soul-crushing. The militarized over-reaction by police to protesters has been surreal. The slow reaction by elected officials has been depressing. Yet I know so many who are on the right side of this. I hope people outside of St. Louis, but more importantly, the black community here, understand that there are many people who want to see justice and change and are willing to work for it. I totally get why there would be mistrust or apprehension. Events over the last 4-5 days have not offered up stellar examples of compassion. Crap, let's face it. We wiped out the natives who were here and have been oppressing people of color for hundreds of years. Our track record sucks.
But there are swaths of people cleaning up the neighborhood, holding peaceful vigils, interviewing folks who have been directly affected, trying to get the stories out. Last night, I was up until 2am watching live streams and twitter feeds about #Ferguson. Not just friends and acquaintances from around the city, but people all over the world are outraged. It was hard to believe that this was happening. In Ferguson.
When I was just a bit younger than my daughter is now, we would visit my grandparents in Ferguson every week. They lived on Alameda and a trip to the city (sidewalks!) was a big deal to this country kid. My cousins and I would walk to Gasen's drug store or walk down to the church parking lot to play with no cares or worries. Later, my aunt and uncle raised their family on the same street, calling Ferguson home for over 25 years until they retired. For years we would go to Wabash Park to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July. I've always had a nostalgic affection for Ferguson.
I am just going to keep praying that something much larger and something good comes out of this situation. A real dialogue about race and some real action about race, poverty, education, and how we treat our children (and each other). Maybe I'm naive, but that is all I have to hold on to. The idea of raising my daughter in a country that accepts this kind of systematic abuse of power, that treats the black population (especially black males) like they are completely disposable, is unbearable. But I know I have to do more than pray. I have to take action. I'm not sure what that looks like right now. And I think a lot of people feel this way and are asking, "what can we do?"
I hope the family of Mike Brown and the residents of Ferguson know the world is watching. Change is going to come. There is love in this world. It can prevail. It has to.