Vetta and Riisa – #STL2039
Sharing the visions of St. Louis residents for a future St. Louis—in 2039—where Racial Equity is the reality and what they’re doing to achieve it today. #STL2039
John and Jamala – #STL2039
Sharing the visions of St. Louis residents for a future St. Louis—in 2039—where Racial Equity is the reality and what they’re doing to achieve it today. #STL2039
Amelia and Maria – #STL2039
Sharing the visions of St. Louis residents for a future St. Louis—in 2039—where Racial Equity is the reality and what they’re doing to achieve it today. #STL2039
Erica and Serena – #STL2039
Sharing the visions of St. Louis residents for a future St. Louis—in 2039—where Racial Equity is the reality and what they’re doing to achieve it today. #STL2039
David and Rachel – #STL2039
Sharing the visions of St. Louis residents for a future St. Louis—in 2039—where Racial Equity is the reality and what they’re doing to achieve it today. #STL2039
Stacey and Bob – #STL2039
Sharing the visions of St. Louis residents for a future St. Louis—in 2039—where Racial Equity is the reality and what they’re doing to achieve it today. #STL2039
Tishaura and Ellen – #STL2039
Sharing the visions of St. Louis residents for a future St. Louis—in 2039—where Racial Equity is the reality and what they’re doing to achieve it today. #STL2039
Val and Greg – #STL2039
Sharing the visions of St. Louis residents for a future St. Louis—in 2039—where Racial Equity is the reality and what they’re doing to achieve it today. #STL2039
Jackie and Elisabeth — #STL2039
This is part of the #STL2039 Action Plan storytelling series in partnership with Humans of St. Louis. Jackie Hutchinson: I am the Board President of Consumers Council of Missouri. CCM’s mission is to educate and advocate for the collective interests of consumers through leadership and partnerships on issues such as utility rates, personal finance, health…
Stephanie and Neal — #STL2039
Sharing the visions of St. Louis residents for a future St. Louis—in 2039—where Racial Equity is the reality and what they’re doing to achieve it today. #STL2039
A Path To Racial Equity Worksheet
Racial Equity is a state in which race no longer predicts outcomes. Achieving Racial Equity is the mission of Forward Through Ferguson. But the 189 calls to action in the Ferguson Commission Report are a reminder that there is no one-step, straight-line path from our current state—where racial disparities exist in almost every set of…
Opportunity for a New Approach to Public Safety in St. Louis
An open letter to Mayor Lyda Krewson from Rebeccah Bennett and Zachary Boyers, Co-chairs of Forward Through Ferguson, on the public safety opportunity in front of our region. Click here to download a pdf of the open letter. Mayor Krewson, The retirement of Police Chief Sam Dotson represents a new day for public safety in St. Louis….
Claire
Given the work that U.S. Bank Community Development Corporation does, our investments we make in communities every day, and a lot of them in communities of color, there was a realization that we have a unique responsibility to be more actively engaged in equity work. It’s not to be a White institution that comes in…
De
There is an extreme danger in making gross assumptions about the people who are on the ground, the people who are organizing, and the people who are taking a stance in this movement. A lot of people say that this is a leaderless movement, but I say the opposite. It’s a very leader-full movement because…
Christy
How do I live in a way that effects change in as many areas as possible? How must I be aware of institutional barriers going up? In what ways must I be very intentional and purposeful? I’m really conscious of being a White woman, knowing I could very easily show up someplace and be like,…
Three Questions for St. Louis City Mayoral Primary Candidates
Before its sunset in December of 2015, the Ferguson Commission created Forward Through Ferguson to catalyze action on the calls to action in the Ferguson Commission report, develop a vision for Racial Equity in the region, and to ensure accountability to the 3,000+ St. Louis residents who participated in the report development. In that spirit, Forward…
Zack
My parents were involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s. I grew up believing I understood and was on the right side of things. But Crossroads Anti-Bias Anti-Racism workshop opened my eyes differently and in such a way that I couldn’t close them anymore. It just changed my way of viewing the rest…
Adelaide
Little kids have this project called Flat Stanley. Flat Stanley travels around the country with you and then tells about his adventures. We drove to Florida on spring break. When we came back, my daughter and her classmates put their Flat Stanley’s on the window outside the classroom to the hallway, and made these speech…
Rebeccah
When I was 20, I was frustrated about having to spend so much of my time helping people understand the impact of racism on folks who were not White. It just felt like such a chore to have to spend my energy saying, “Hey, you realize the world is topsy-turvy, and the privilege and value…
Tracking Regional Action and Initiatives with the FTF Action Tracker
If you, or someone you know of, is implementing a Call to Action and it’s not listed in the Action Tracker, you can let us know through this form: bit.ly/FTFSubmitYourAction At the core of the Ferguson Commission’s report, Forward Through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial Equity, are the 189 Calls to Action — 189 recommendations sourced from…
Take the Racial Equity Baseline Survey
Finding a baseline for where the region stands in achieving Racial Equity will be essential to measure progress as organizations implement the policy calls to action recommended by the Ferguson Commission. Take the opportunity to make your voice heard and fill out a short 10 question survey on where you think the region is on…
“What can I do? How can I do it?”
Laura H. is a “boomerang” who shares re-plant status with many others in St. Louis. But the timing of her return – the day Michael Brown, Jr., was fatally shot by Officer Darren Wilson – along with its role in how she’s making sense of her place in STL as a white Jewish mother, offers…
The Best Way to Understand It Is to Experience It
In a four part series Josh Walehwa, who’s brother is a police officer, shares his experiences with law enforcement and vision for the future of St. Louis. Check back as additional parts of his story are released. Part 1 The Best Way to Understand It Is to Experience It – Investigatory Stops “We want the…
Starsky
There are a lot of more usual suspects who could have co-chaired the Commission. It probably made a whole lot better sense to appoint somebody else. But God gave me an opportunity to translate what was going on in the street at the time into the Commission’s work and attempt to do so effectively to…
Mustafah
Movements often center around single identities, even though its participants may come from a wide-swath of backgrounds and traditions. Finding the interconnections between various struggles can be a powerful tool for improving conditions for all people, inclusive of a variety of identities.
Buthaina
The assumption is always that I’m Mexican or Indian. I get a lot of “Holas.” I can’t be mad. A lot of Mexicans think I’m Mexican. The first interaction is usually, “Are you from Mexico?” “No, I’m from Yemen.” “Where’s that?” “It’s in the Middle East.” People are curious. A lot of times, the next…
Charles
One of the bigger challenges that everyone in our region has to overcome, and to possibly become a prototype for other cities, is to get over our segregation mentality. So we can talk about everyone having equity, a better school, a place to go to the grocery store, but we still think in that segregationist mentality.
Why do you live where you live?
Deciding where to make your home is challenging enough when you’re familiar with where you’re moving. For those who transplant to St. Louis from an entirely different city, state, or country even, the advice of contacts in your soon-to-be-local area can provide valuable insights
Felicia
We’re at a critical time to make a decision about who and what we are. I was bitter for a long time around this work — nobody listening, not doing the right thing, and continuing the abuses. And I have learned — because it’s been uncovered, because the scab was ripped off, because the blood…
Summary of Terms
Better Business Bureau Organization that sets standards for marketplace trust and calls out substandard marketplace behavior of businesses and charities. Source: Better Business Bureau, https://www.bbb.org/stlouis/get-to-know-us/vision-mission-and-values/ Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress that regulates interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable in the 50 states, District of…
“Oh, You’re Here Too?”
Ferguson forced me to have a lot of conversations with my family about ideas of anti-blackness that we grew up with, and ideas about why people are poor in America.
Engage the Faith Community in the Racial Equity Mission
Faith communities and authorized faith leaders are called to directly engage in networks and tables of policy discussion across the region to shape how we work together and inform the conversation directly. Develop new and provide existing assets to the region with a multi-faith set of resources for racial equity and reconciliation informed by various…
Train Moderators
FCC licensees with online comments sections must employ trained moderators or close comments.
Provide Trauma-Informed & Anti-Bias Training for Media
Develop statewide training, best practices and accountability measures for broadcasters, print and digital media outlets in the areas of Trauma Informed Newsrooms (Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma), bias and systemic context with specific focus on impoverished communities, people of color, and boys and men of color. (Race Forward #MediaOnFerguson brief).
Create Neutral Space
Create dedicated physical space that is considered neutral for the primary purpose of learning, interaction and training, equipped with state-of-the-art technology and facilities.
Design an Accreditation System
Design an accreditation system in partnership with national organizations (e.g. Winter Institute, Race Forward, Danforth Project for Education Equity).
Create Incentive Programs
Create incentive programs for corporations, organizations, institutions, media, and governmental agencies to participate in accredited diversity and inclusion programming and initiatives that support learning and dialogue.
Support and Encourage Creative Spaces
Support and encourage spaces with established community presence that think creatively about use of space and community relationships to welcome and support casual and professional learning, connecting and dialogue (e.g. City Garden Montessori and other places who are not primarily spaces for this work but will become an important partner in this dialogue).
Create a Clearinghouse
Create a clearinghouse for professionally facilitated opportunities at various levels (school, inter/intra-race, private, etc.)
Create a Rating System
Create a Better Business Bureau-like consumer facing rating system as a regional benchmark for diversity. The purpose is to provide public accountability, consumer knowledge and goal-setting for regional institutions, organizations and corporations.
Disaggregate Data
Require data coming from public institutions to be disaggregated by race, gender, and ethnicity when reporting regional, local, public statistics to identify trends in disparities.
Establish Regional Baselines
Establish a regional baseline on attitudes, experiences and perception regarding diversity and inclusion for use in consistently measuring regional progress at regular intervals. (e.g. Social Science Research Center at Mississippi State.)
Create Region-Wide Benchmarking Process
Complete a collective region-wide benchmarking process designed to publicly acknowledge challenges focused on awareness, accountability and healing. (Suggested model Jackson/Hardiman Social Identity Development.)
Ensure Language Access
Ensure language access for non-English speakers through enforcement and expansion of Missouri Revised Statute 476.803.1 for courts-related services and addition of statute to include all emergency services, including law-enforcement departments and ambulance services. Consider revision of statute to disallow parents to serve as first-option translators for children in court.
Utilize Shared Guidelines
Utilize a shared set of guidelines, language, and benchmarks for philanthropic organizations addressing key causes of systemic inequality.
Create a 25-year Managed Fund
Create a 25-year managed fund to solely support regional racial equity infrastructure for all sectors. Funding for racial equity capacity, needs and training assessment, analysis, implementation, impact, sustained strategies and accountability.
Broadly Apply a Racial Equity Framework
Intentionally apply a racial equity framework to existing and new regional policies, initiatives, programs and projects in order to address and eliminate existing disparities for racial and ethnic populations. The following focus questions to be included at a minimum: Whom does this benefit? Does this differentially impact racial and ethnic groups? What is missing that…
Relationships: Rasheen and Kevin
Commissioners Rasheen Aldridge, an activist, and Kevin Ahlbrand, a detective sergeant with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, talk about their experiences joining the commission and working together towards positive change in the St. Louis region.
Preston and Sharon
Our youth present our greatest opportunity to impact positive and lasting change. Addressing our endeavors to the whole child through education, health, encouragement, support, and opportunities will fundamentally change their lives now and their futures forever.
Combating Racism with Empathy
The Commission’s charge was to address the underlying root causes that led to the unrest in the wake of Michael Brown Jr’s death. Race is inherent in every root cause. Eliminating existing disparities for racial and ethnic populations is a fundamental goal of the calls in this report.