Part 2 of 5
The police shooting death of Michael Brown on Aug. 9, 2014, brought the eyes of the world to St. Louis. But it’s the people who live in St. Louis who were impacted most directly.
Now that a year has passed, St. Louis Public Radio is inviting you to share how Brown’s death affected your life, as well as your thoughts about how the events that followed impacted the region as a whole. We are considering a different question every day this week.
Today’s question: What still needs to happen to resolve the issues brought to light this year?
Was there a certain issue in particular that rang true to you? Why? Do you have a suggestion of how to resolve that issue? Or do you think nothing needs to change? Whatever your response, we welcome you into the conversation.
Here’s what a few people have had to say so far.
What really needs to happen, I think, is white people need to sit down and really admit their privilege. They need to reform also their ideas of people of color. People of color also need to know that this is not going to be an easy thing for white people to do. — Jerry Benner, Ferguson
We as a nation have to admit that white privilege is real. And [the race game] — both races play it. ... They both play it, black and white, and all the other different people in this world, they all play the race game. — Katie Banister, Affton
Katie Banister talks about the issues she thinks still need to be resolved.
I believe that we need to establish a new normal, and there is discomfort for all, and that means that people who are not used to interacting with each other will have to interact with each other. — Janice Thomas, St. Louis
Janice Thomas talks about what still needs to happen to resolve the issues raised this year.
I think we also need an independent review board for all police shootings, not to indict the officers, but rather to investigate: what happened, what the facts were in the situation, and how training and oversight and accountability can be used to reduce the amount of shootings by police. — Dan Hyatt, Maryland Heights
Do you have your own thoughts to share? Continue the conversation in the comments section below, or become a source for St. Louis Public Radio through the Public Insight Network, which is how we received the responses above. Tell us: What has changed for you, one year later? You may also see the complete responses from these sources and others.
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