x
Breaking News
More () »

Tracking the progress toward racial equity since Ferguson

Forward Through Ferguson released a report Wednesday. It looked at 47 key action items related to racial inequity. They ranged from police training to education to healthcare.
Credit: Clancy, Samuel

FERGUSON, Mo. — Celestine Buford lost her cousin, Louis Lynn Payton, last week. He died at the Workhouse, the medium security jail run by the City of St. Louis.

“It's a pain that's indescribable,” Buford said. “We don't want to see anybody else go through the same thing we're going through right now.”

Payton had been at the Workhouse since January, awaiting a court date. He was arrested for drug possession and weapons offenses. His family said he could not pay the $80,000, cash-only bail.

“The rich go home; the poor stay in the Workhouse,” Buford said.

That divide is just one example of racial inequity in our justice system, according Yinka Faleti, the executive director of Forward Through Ferguson.

“Cash bails are really harmful to and disproportionally affect communities of color,” Faleti said.

The organization released a report Wednesday. It looked at 47 key action items related to racial inequity. They ranged from police training to education to healthcare.

Faleti said the region is showing some progress in racial equity.

“There is a long way to go,” Faleti said. “This is not work that's going to happen in a year or two years.”

Faleti said the leaders in the St. Louis region need to commit to change, as it is the only way to not repeat the past.

“For St. Louis to lead, not lag, we've got to invest robustly -- not a little bit, not on the margins -- in racial equity work. If we do that, this region can be one where not just communities of color are lifted up, but everyone can be lifted up,” Faleti said.

Faleti welcomed people in our community to read the report and weigh in during three town hall meetings. The first one will be held at Indian Trails County Library Branch on Thursday, September 6 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Before You Leave, Check This Out