Tuesday, March 31, 2015


Monday March 30th. We woke up really early and were out the door at 7 am out to door hang fliers in different parts of the Ferguson neighborhood. The flyers had information about the council candidate forum that was happening this evening.  During a 4 hour span we walked over 10 miles and over the past couple days we hung around 2,500 flyers! Since we were out in the neighborhood so early, we interacted with more people as they left their houses for the day, seeing the faces of the community. We spent the afternoon hanging more flyers in apartment complexes. We then attended the council candidate forum that we had spent so much time advertising. It was so cool to connect the faces of the candidates to the signs in peoples yards while postering. Several questions concerned the police and how to move forward to create reconciliation within the community. Being at the forum reminded me that I should attend forums like these for candidates in my own community since it's who we as a community vote into government positions are the ones who can create changes in our communities. After the forum we had a reflection and discussion, lead by a Ferguson resident, Tasha, who is also a leader in the Operation Help or Hush organization. She was able to give us perspectives on the candidates since she was a resident and more knowledgeable about the candidates. One candidate boasted about all his door knocking and conversations with people, but Tasha told us her short interaction with this candidate when he came knocking on her door. The conversation naturally progressed to the larger issues of how police perceive brown and black bodies and issues of power in general. I cannot say for everyone, but I believe everyone felt uncomfortable at some point in the conversation, if not throughout, but it's from this place that we learn about ourselves and the issues that are affecting us and/or those around us and the reason we all are here.

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