Featured

OP-ED: Are There Hundreds of Ferguson’s in Waiting?

Published

10 years ago

September 30, 2014

Ferguson, MO City motto since 1894: PROUD PAST, PROMISING FUTURE:

On August 9^th of this year unarmed 18 year old Michael Brown was fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer and the shooting sparked the longest period of rioting since the Rodney King rioting of 1992. The Michael Brown family called for peace and cessation to the violence. The National Guard would be brought in on August 18^th.

The riots left over a dozen businesses looted and smoldering (many Black owned businesses) and 100’s of arrest. And less than sixty days after the rioting the Reverend Jesse Jackson and the Reverend Al Sharpton have returned to their mansion miles away from Ferguson. This town is once again in the news because a Ferguson police officer was shot in the arm last Saturday. As of the writing of this article the Ferguson Police have so far arrested eight suspects.

But why is our attention span so short with this horrible tragedy? Let us attempt to not have our knowledge on this subject a mile wide but only an inch deep.

Ferguson, Missouri is a town of only 6.20 miles and per the 2010 US Census the population of Ferguson, Missouri is 21,203. As of the 2010 census the racial makeup of the city was 29.3 percent white, 67.4 percent African American, 0.4 percent Native American, 0.5 percent Asian and 0.4 percent from other races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were1.2 percent.

A recent Brookings Institute report stated, “The city’s unemployment rate rose from roughly 7 percent in 2000 to over 13 percent in 2010-12. For those residents who were employed, inflation-adjusted average earnings fell by one-third. The number of households using federal Housing Choice Vouchers climbed from roughly 300 in 2000 to more than 800 by the end of the decade. Amid these changes, poverty skyrocketed.

Between 2000 and 2010-2012, Ferguson’s poor population doubled. By the end of that period, roughly one in four residents lived below the federal poverty line ($23,492 for a family of four in 2012), and 44 percent fell below twice that level.” Within our country’s largest 100 metro areas the number of suburban areas where more than 20 percent of residents live below the federal poverty line more than doubled between the years, 2000 – 2012.

Are there 100’s of Ferguson’s in waiting? Not if we begin to pay serious attention now. Rioting has always been a poor choice for the serious response needed from the real hurts of the Black community. Many communities are still struggling to recover from the rioting decades ago.

The loss of life for Michael Brown and so many other young Black men in our nation is disturbing. We also must begin to go deeper into the issue and see if there is more than just Black and White to this issue but is there also something Green about this as well?

If we choose to delve deeper and go beyond the sound bites, it is possible that Ferguson, Missouri could be the last race riot in America. If we look away and refuse to deal with the underpinnings it is possible that Ferguson will just be the beginning of what is to come.

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Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

6 days ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

1 week ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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City Government

Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Published

1 week ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

Beverli Marshall began her first day with the City on April 10. ICMA image.

Special to The Post

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.

Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.

Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”

According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.

“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”

When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.

At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”

While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.

On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.

“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.

The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.