By Jim Salter
Associated Press
FERGUSON, Mo. 鈥� Michael Brown once told his father the 鈥渨orld is going to know my name,鈥� words Michael Brown Sr. still takes to heart.
Friday marks 10 years since the 18-year-old was killed by a police officer in , turning the St. Louis suburb into the with the historically tense relationship between U.S. law enforcement and Black people.
The elder Brown now devotes his time to the Michael Brown Sr. Chosen for Change Organization, a foundation that helps fathers, mothers and children come to grips with tragedy in their lives. It鈥檚 a legacy he feels obligated to pass on under the name he shares with his son.
鈥淗e was going to shake the world,鈥� Brown said of his son. 鈥淪o, I guess that鈥檚 what we鈥檙e doing. He鈥檚 still doing the work from the grave.鈥�
Brown鈥檚 death catalyzed massive change in Ferguson. In 2014, every city leader was white in the majority-Black city. Today, the mayor, police chief, city attorney and other leaders are Black. The mostly-white police force of a decade ago now has more officers that are Black than white.
The municipal court system that once brought in millions of dollars in fines and fees, often for relatively minor traffic offenses 鈥� paid mostly by poor residents 鈥� now collects only a fraction of that.
But problems persist. The current and former mayor acknowledge that race still divides the community of 18,000 residents. Some are concerned that police, wary of criticism, aren鈥檛 enforcing traffic laws, since serious and sometimes fatal wrecks are common.
What happened on Aug. 9, 2014
Michael Brown and a friend were walking along Canfield Drive when Officer Darren Wilson drove up and told them to get on the sidewalk. A fight ensued and fearing for his life, the teenager ran.
Though Brown was unarmed, Wilson described Brown as menacing at 6-foot-4 and claimed he came at the officer. But some nearby residents said Brown had his hands up in surrender when
Activist Zaki Baruti recalled the horror and fear that other Black residents felt after Brown鈥檚 death.
鈥淭here was a sense of shock, not knowing what to do,鈥� Baruti said.
James Knowles III, who was mayor in 2014, believes that the widespread anger about Brown鈥檚 death was driven by several factors. Social media allowed information 鈥� and sometimes misinformation 鈥� to spread quickly, he said. Neighbors were incensed when Brown鈥檚 body was left in the street for over four hours on that hot August afternoon.
The night after Brown鈥檚 death, thousands of protesters marched along West Florissant Avenue, near Canfield. A QuikTrip convenience store was torched, and goods were stolen from many businesses. Months of fierce protest, at which demonstrators were tear gassed, soon thrust the city into the national spotlight.
When St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch announced in November 2014 that , protests erupted again.
What changed in Ferguson
In 2015, an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice also found . But the report gave a scathing indictment of the police department 鈥� raising about how officers treated Black residents, and about a court system that created a cycle of debt for many residents. A year later, the city agreed to a federal consent decree requiring sweeping changes. The decree is still ongoing.
Missouri lawmakers stepped in, too. In 2016, legislators passed a law limiting the amount of revenue that municipal courts could collect from fines.
In 2013, Ferguson collected $2 million in court fines and fees, according to data from ArchCity Defenders, a St. Louis-based civil rights law firm. In 2023, the city collected about $97,000 鈥� a decline of more than 95%.
鈥楢 new look鈥� for policing
Troy Doyle was a veteran St. Louis County police officer who worked in Ferguson during the 2014 protests. Nearly a decade later in April 2023, Doyle, who is Black, was hired as Ferguson鈥檚 chief 鈥� the latest of several hires since , following the Justice Department report.
Back in 2014, Ferguson had roughly 50 white officers, but just three Black officers. Today, 22 of Ferguson鈥檚 41 officers are Black. Only four officers who were on staff in 2014 remain. Officers today are trained on implicit bias, de-escalation and community relationship building.
Doyle said he has worked hard to change the mindset of officers who might be resistant to the court-imposed requirements. He even replaced uniforms and changed the look of patches, badges and police cars, worried that the old look was 鈥渢riggering鈥� for many residents.
鈥淔or some people who live in the community, every time they saw a Ferguson police officer, it brought back memories,鈥� Doyle said. 鈥淚 wanted to give us a new look, but part of that new look was to let people know it was a new police department.鈥�
Michael Brown Sr. said he鈥檚 noticed the change.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a weight that鈥檚 been lifted up off the Black community in terms of stop-and-frisk and assessing tickets,鈥� Brown said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of things that still need to get done. Those things are not promised overnight. It鈥檚 a process.鈥�
More jobs and a helping hand
Some companies and organizations stepped in to create jobs and opportunities after the unrest in Ferguson, which brought more awareness of economic challenges in the community.
Centene Corp. opened a managed care service center in Ferguson in 2016, creating about 250 jobs. But after the COVID-19 pandemic and a move to virtual work, the center closed. In April, Centene donated the $25 million building to the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis for early childhood programs, workforce assistance and other services.
Bob Clark, founder of the St. Louis-based construction company Clayco, in 2015 created the Construction Career Development Initiative. Since then, 175 people have been placed in jobs in the construction industry. Among them is Malik Johnson. He was a high school student who was homeless at the time of Brown鈥檚 death.
鈥淢y reality was divorce. My reality was mom with breast cancer, homeless, going hungry,鈥� Johnson, 28, recalled. 鈥淣ot knowing what tomorrow looks like.鈥� Now, he鈥檚 married, employed as a pipefitter and planning a family.
But challenges remain
After serving three terms as mayor, Knowles left office in 2020 due to term limits.
Knowles frequently meets for breakfast with Ella Jones, who was elected as Ferguson鈥檚 first Black mayor in 2020 and reelected last year. They both acknowledge that race relations remain a struggle.
鈥淭he city is turning back,鈥� Jones told the . 鈥淚t really is. Everything here is along racial lines.鈥� The City Council has four white members and three Black members, and little gets done, she lamented.
Knowles sees that, too. He also worries about public safety as many drivers 鈥� aware police are less likely to pull them over 鈥� flaunt traffic laws.
He also believes too much money is being spent on the consent decree 鈥� money he believes would be better spent on fixing streets, hiring more officers and restoring crumbling parks.
The place where Black Lives Matter took off
Karla Scott, communications professor and former African American Studies program director at St. Louis University, said Ferguson will survive because its residents are resilient and proud of their community, even after all it has gone through.
鈥淏ut I think it will always be the sort of epicenter for many of us who can remember where we were when we heard the news, or for people who went out there to stand in solidarity, to march in solidarity, to make their voices heard,鈥� Scott said. 鈥淚t will always be that place where the Black Lives Matter movement really took off.鈥�
