Ferguson Commission Report: ‘We Have Not Moved Beyond Race’

The Ferguson Commission has found that the St. Louis area faces stark inequalities based on race. The group released an in-depth report called Forward Through Ferguson touching on the underlying racial problems that set the stage for the dramatic and sometimes violent reaction to the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

The report explains in the introduction that the area’s inequality problems correlate with one important factor.

“Make no mistake: this is about race.”

According to CNN, the Ferguson Commission illustrates a number of statistical differences between local white and black populations.

As the report explains, it affects African Americans in many ways.

“Black people in the region feel those repercussions when it comes to law enforcement, the justice system, housing, health, education, and income.”

One stark difference is life expectancy.

In the predominately black suburb of Kinloch, the average person can expect to live to the age of 55.9. In the white suburb of Wildwood, on the other hand, people live to about 91.4.

Likewise, 14.3 percent black Missouri elementary school students were suspended at least once. For white students, it was only 1.8 percent according to the New York Times.

Black motorists were also 75 percent more likely to be pulled over than white drivers.

To fix the entrenched problems, the Ferguson Commission listed 189 recommended actions, including raising the minimum wage, putting stricter controls on police, and expanding Medicaid and social security programs.

The Commission admits that the nation is tired of the Ferguson shooting and its racial implications (what they call “Ferguson fatigue”), but the continued attention is still essential.

“Though some may be feeling ‘Ferguson fatigue,’ we believe that Ferguson can, and should, represent a collective awakening to the issues that many in our region knew and understood, but for many others were invisible. Now they are not.”

Still, the group isn’t the first commission to deal with issues of race. The authors cite five other groups gathered to investigate racially charged riots between 1919 and 1992. Those commissions failed to address the underlying race-related problems according the Ferguson board. As a result, many saw them as tools to placate the anger behind those demonstrations.

The Ferguson Commission claims it will do more than placate, and the thoroughness and blunt nature of their report is a sign of that dedication.

Lawmakers are not so sure.

Maria Chappelle-Nadal, a Missouri state senator, explained that there’s going to be a lot of “fanfare” for the report, but when it comes time to implement real reform, the state will go silent.

“The practicality of getting any of this done is close to null.”

St Louis Alderman Antonio French has similar reservations.

“What this group has done over the last year has just put into written form what so many people have already voiced for years about change that needs to happen in the St. Louis region, but identifying a problem and fixing it are different.”

Missouri Governor Jay Nixon established the 16-person Ferguson Commission after a Justice Department investigation found the local police department’s policies discriminated against African Americans.

The Commission’s full report on race inequality in Missouri can be found here.

[Image Credit: Scott Olson/Getty Images]