urbanSTL

jcity wrote:Was Ferguson "designed to decline" as it's been suggested on nextstl? While I am no fan of an autocentric, suburban style layout, I think the issues of Ferguson go far beyond its lack of street grid. Was north city and many other areas of the city "designed to decline"? I don't think they were.

Good question. My answer is the auto centric un-walkable cheap developments don't have a lot to fall back on when the bottom falls out socio-economically.

To me a lot of the strip malls and subdivision developments in St. Peters aren't too different from the parts of North County that have seen decline recently.

So while an area like downtown Ferguson or old town St. Charles holds on even as development pushes further west the weaker links inbetween see more problems.

Certainly an area like St. Peters has not suffered the same poverty and issues with racism that have plagued the municipalities of NorCo, but it's easier to see how blight can move in there as long as sprawl continues and these pockets offer little in the way of sustainable walkable neighborhoods.

When you're built just to be the "new big thing" don't be surprised when you are overlooked when the next new big thing comes along.

arch city wrote:Wowww. You mean to tell me there's been a whole whopping 50 years to reverse 349 years of chattel slavery, slave codes, Black Codes and Jim Crow? That's really enough time to reverse over three centuries of overt and covert bigotry and systemic racism. Ahem....Ferguson is a great example of how far we (and the St. Louis cesspool) have come.

...

yes. all of this. we're talking less than two generations since black people were guaranteed the right to vote, people. we're talking generations upon generations of poverty, discrimination, and internalized oppression. no other group of people has ever been oppressed to the degree that blacks have in this country, maybe with the exception of native americans. and they're not doing so well either.

"Disrespected" black North County democrats endorse Republican Rick Stream. Progress?

http://m.stltoday.com/news/local/govt-a ... touch=true

I think this will ensure a Stenger win....think about it

"Disrespected" black North County democrats endorse Republican Rick Stream. Progress?

I think ^ is the most ridiculous thing yet to come out of this whole affair.

In the meantime, Antonio French is lining up major support for his "North Campus" initiative. Governor Jay Nixon is providing $500,000 in state funds, and UMSL is getting involved.

Before Ferguson, French couldn't hardly get anyone to help out, especially people at the local levels of city government. Now the top man in the state is standing shoulder to shoulder with the young politician.

Up til now, "North Campus" was a 21st ward initiative. I wonder if the geography will expand beyond ward boundaries?

If I were UMSL or Nixon, I'd make that a condition of my support.

How long until some of that $ accidentally ends up in his "personal" account?

I doubt that happens, although French doesn't have a perfect record when it comes to his financial reporting.

The bigger issue is sustaining the effort into the future.

Nixon can make a big splash and offer a $500,000 check. That's good for 1, maybe 2 or 3 years of operations.

What the program needs is a dedicated source of funding. Or something more steady into the future.

Getting Nixon and UMSL on board will bring in other supporters. He's already got the Incarnate Word Foundation. If it wasn't for IWF, the effort would have been way behind where it is so far.

Credit French for getting this off the ground. Lone wolf in the beginning, he saw a need and with dogged determination, pushed it forward.

And this is in an environment where various efforts to help kids/young people have gone on for years with mixed results. Will this one be different? Will it grow? Will it bring real change?

What if we have a Republican governor? What if French is no longer alderman?

We'll see. Organizations need to be the durable entity. People and faces change. Designing durable organizations is the challenge. And that takes a tremendous amount of selfless effort.

I realize I could google this, and I still might, but is anyone familiar with the North Campus to a degree they could explain it's mission and now it works?

I know it's for kids in north city to help them be educated and avoid falling into the wrong crowd, but I know very little else.

In any case, if French uses his new found celebrity to advance initiatives like that, very good on him.

Things were so bad in his ward, crime so rampant when he took office, that eventually French came up with the North Campus idea to counter all the negative activity.

With $$$ earmarked by French, locals originally acquired an old church, then put in some programs for the community. In time it evolved into the "North Campus", tying in with the then new O'Fallon Park Y/Community Center.

As created, it started out only in French's 21st ward - an outgrowth of our city's parochial, ward-based system (although youth from neighboring wards might have been welcome) . Now with more money and partners, it's set to expand into North County.

Will it leapfrog neighboring north city wards to Ferguson? Or will it have a bigger contiguous boundary?

The real question is will more city leaders get on board, or will French continue to do his own thing? Will it be a black aldermanic effort, or will it become more diverse, with supporters north and south, black and white, etc?

A wise man once said, "in politics, there are no permanent enemies, only permanent interests".

Given recent developments, does French get back in good standing with establishment politicians in STL?

Does his anti-mayor's office rhetoric on crime slow?

arch city wrote: And yes, there are corners of the black community that could do better despite real racist barriers, nonetheless, it still doesn't excuse those who create barriers - like the traffic ticket racket in north county, for example, or the lack of black officers on the St. Louis County or Ferguson police departments.

Honestly, though, it's hard to staff a force with black officers if there aren't enough qualified candidates. And why would a black person want to become a cop when he's subjected to taunts of "Uncle Tom" or "sellout" by members of his own race? Interesting article about what it's like to be a black cop in Ferguson right now:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crim ... b8343.html

Also, isn't it true that most of those "North County Traffic Ticket Rackets" are in black-majority communities with black leaders?

Just sayin'.

I'd be interested in how black people that are several generations removed from ghettos think about this stuff.

Also, isn't it true that most of those "North County Traffic Ticket Rackets" are in black-majority communities with black leaders?

With all due respect to the makers of these comments, in regard to the points being made, seriously, who cares?

What difference does it make if black elected officials run ticket rackets in their own cash starved communities versus white elected officials running those same rackets?

What difference does it make what well-to-do blacks in Chesterfield think about black on black crime in North St. Louis compared to what well-to-do whites in Chesterfield think of black on black crime in North St. Louis?

Who cares? Are the opinions of these people somehow more relevant? What's the point here?

framer wrote: Also, isn't it true that most of those "North County Traffic Ticket Rackets" are in black-majority communities with black leaders?

Just sayin'.

not in Ferguson's case. Ferguson's mayor is white, five of its six city council members are white, and six of the seven school board members are white.

framer wrote:

arch city wrote: And yes, there are corners of the black community that could do better despite real racist barriers, nonetheless, it still doesn't excuse those who create barriers - like the traffic ticket racket in north county, for example, or the lack of black officers on the St. Louis County or Ferguson police departments.

Honestly, though, it's hard to staff a force with black officers if there aren't enough qualified candidates. And why would a black person want to become a cop when he's subjected to taunts of "Uncle Tom" or "sellout" by members of his own race? Interesting article about what it's like to be a black cop in Ferguson right now:

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crim ... b8343.html

Also, isn't it true that most of those "North County Traffic Ticket Rackets" are in black-majority communities with black leaders?

Just sayin'.

They should deal with the black officer shortage the way you deal with any labor shortage. Pay more. If pay was higher, more officers would find a way to become qualified.

This was a nice peaceful protest, but the "which side are you on" question is ridiculous until the full report comes out.

Here is another one, that goes to the end and shows the protesters respectfully leaving after five minutes, and member of the orchestra and audience applauding.



I believe the white population of St. Louis is nearly as alarmed at actions of the Ferguson police as the black community. Until this happened, I for one did not know there was this level of strain between the police of Ferguson and its citizens. I never thought this was about St. Louis white population vs. black population. It is about participation in the government, and in economic justice, as much as anything. And, although the media sometimes wants to characterize Ferguson as another Selma, the truth is that the white population there could have lived anywhere in the metro area, but chose to move there, or stay there during demographic transition. They are not racists. But the government transitions are slow and way behind the people on this one.

My daughter just turned 18 and registered to vote. I think change can come quickly in Ferguson when everyone is registered and votes. Antonio Freeman's #HealSTL http://healstl.com/ is the organization doing the most to make that happen in my opinion. My daughter and I visited the HealSTL storefront Saturday, and bought some T-Shirts directly from Antonio to help raise money for registration. The website is a great way to contribute -- it looks like they just updated it and made it very easy to donate. Then we had a great lunch at Ferguson Brewery, which I was glad to see was packed. Try the Pecan beer.

Interesting, though not totally sure how I feel about it. The STL Today article already has over 1000 comments, which shows that it definitely struck a nerve. And this from that STL American article:

The St. Louis American tracked down and interviewed the organizer of the event – Sarah Griesbach, 42, a white woman who lives in the Central West End. She said that the death of Michael Brown, an unarmed teen who was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, has opened her eyes to the inequalities that exist in St. Louis.

...is pretty shocking. She lives in the CWE and her eyes weren't open to the inequalities in STL? Really? Uh, had she never walked/biked/driven north on Euclid into Fountain Park before?