T-Dubb-O, UrbanCusp
The Ferguson uprising started the development of a revolution here in
the United States. There is no question that Ferguson was much different and
more radical than anything we’ve seen here in this country. A movement filled
with young, black, oppressed, and fearless males and females who were
unapologetic on their conquest for freedom. St. Louis, MO opened the door for
factual conversations around racism and oppression in this country. The entire
world watched and supported Ferguson, but that support did not reach the people
of St. Louis, MO.
Many people ask how this happened in St. Louis. They asked what
separated this incident from Trayvon Martin or Eric Garner. The answer is
simple. You are dealing with a generation of black people who are completely
fed up. St. Louis is always ranked amongst the top of the list for most
dangerous U.S. cities every year. The lack of opportunity supports a crab in a
bucket type of mentality amongst the people. Having one of the lowest minimum
wages in the country and a lack of employment, it forces people to seek refuge
in the black market strictly to survive. The school system fails the black
community daily. Most students aren’t allowed to take home books because the
schools don’t have enough for everybody. Several school districts in
predominantly black communities in St. Louis don’t have accreditation with the
state of Missouri. The school to prison pipeline flourishes in St. Louis, MO.
Racism walks out in the open and is proud here. One of the last states to free
the slaves, the creator of white flight, the most dangerous place in the world
for a Black person is St. Louis, MO. This is the mind-state of the people here.
This is why we all left out of our houses on August, 9th 2014.
The death of Michael Brown Jr. triggered a fight that opened the eyes of
the world to the atrocities that continue to happen to black people in this
country. It exposed America to the world. A small community of poor black
people stood up to the U.S. military. There was a fire burning in the middle of
the map and the entire world was watching. Every person that considers
themselves to be on the left wanted to be involved in Ferguson. A community of
people that haven’t been educated in the ways of the non-profit industry opened
its doors to people from around the country in hopes of receiving help and
support. What we received instead were national organizers coming into the
city, writing talking points for other visitors to speak about irrelevant
issues, naming themselves as the gatekeepers of Ferguson to funders, and using
Ferguson to propel their stagnant activist careers. The Ferguson movement and
the people of St. Louis were completely hijacked by these national organizers.
Millions of dollars were raised off the Ferguson name, but those dollars never
made it to the people of St. Louis. People that had never seen the city of St.
Louis before were and are still all over national media discussing the issues
of Ferguson. The media and the public have been bamboozled into believing a hashtag
that was created around the murder of Trayvon Martin sparked and led the
Ferguson movement. Young men and women who aren’t allowed to dream sparked and
led this movement. It wasn’t privileged, middle-classed black folk who opened
the eyes of the world.
Once it was discovered that the community here could not be controlled
for different agenda, national orgs packed up their notebooks full of funders
wanting to help Ferguson and left town. Some local leaders were blacklisted
from national media to prevent interference with that agenda. Funders were
convinced to only speak with certain national organizers in regards to the
movement for black lives. These people have no ties to St. Louis, but in
meetings they tell funders they are representing Ferguson. People and orgs came
in, watched a city burn, benefitted from it burning, and left us without
something to clean up the ashes. The people who watched tanks drive through
their front yards, the people that were tear gassed, shot, beaten, etc. were
left with their city in even worse condition than it was before the “help”
came.
There is a big difference between hashtag activism and activated
activism. It wasn’t national intellectuals in a hotel conference room writing
talking points paid for by donations to Ferguson that led the longest active
protest since the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The truth must be told about the
non-profit world and how it used the death of a child to sustain its
middle-classed lifestyle. No help was given to the people here. Our pain was sold
and we were left to fix these issues alone. Black liberation can-not happen
with the continuance of co-option, corruption, and exploitation by privileged
activists.
