It has been over a year since unarmed black teen Michael Brown was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri. It is a tragedy that America, and the world, still grapples with as we attempt to seek justice and understand not just what happened, but more importantly why it happened.
A newly-released report, Forward through Ferguson: A Path Toward Racial Equality, reveals some devastating truths about life in Ferguson that could provide lessons for the world over. It demonstrates how economic, social, political, educational, and racial inequities contributed to the climate in which the Ferguson tragedy occurred. Although the report may have been inspired by just one isolated case, it addresses root causes of violence and injustice that affect us all.
The 198-page report, released by a commission created by Missouri’s governor following the shooting, paints a “blunt, painful picture of racial inequity in the region,” according to the New York Times. It is unique in that it is a “people’s report,” meant to address average citizens, and looks far beyond the specifics of the Michael Brown shooting into the underlying issues that his case brought to the forefront. Although the report recommends 189 policy changes in total, it also puts a face to the issues in a way that allows everyday people to understand the “current state of affairs” and inspire action. It is a report for Global Citizens.
Some shocking statistics from the report
- The average life expectancy in one largely black suburb of Ferguson is over three decades less than the life expectancy in one largely white suburb of Ferguson
- 14.3% of black elementary school students were suspended during a recent school year, compared to 1.8% of white students
- In 2013 the US national average for households with food insecurity was 14.3%, compared to 26.1% for black households
- In Missouri last year, black drivers were 75% more likely to be pulled over at traffic stops than white drivers. The police department funds a huge portion of its budget through predatory fining, essentially trapping poor residents under piles of debt that dismantles livelihoods
- Economists estimated that the 2012 GDP for the St. Louis region could have been 10% higher if the racial income gap was addressed
Goals the world can get behind
The “calls to action,” as the report entitles them, echo fundamental themes of educational, economic and racial equality that Global Citizen has always advocated for.
For example, the report calls for a rise in the minimum wage, expanded eligibility for Medicaid (a health care program for low income individuals), investments in early childhood education, and the creation of a 25-year fund for racial equality.
The message is that any comprehensive solution will look beyond the obvious prescription of police reform, into a true reshaping of society.
The bottom line
Forward Through Ferguson is a clear demonstration of the links between education, inequality, poverty, health, violence and injustice. It’s also about how fostering change and preventing the tragedies we see in our own communities, or read about in the news, will address seemingly intractable problems.
With the launch of the Global Goals (Goal 16 specifically calls for peace and justice) just around the corner, the release of the Ferguson report is a step in the right direction, and a model for the world as we attempt to move forward. It’s about looking the hard-to-confront truths of society in the eye and thinking of creative solutions that have the power to connect and impact us all.
Go to TAKE ACTION NOWto sign a petition and join the Global Citizen movement.