Meet
3 Ferguson employees cited by DOJ for racism & corruption now in charge of
cleaning up the city
(with
information supplied by the New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/06/us/in-ferguson-some-who-are-part-of-problem-are-asked-to-be-part-of-solution.html?_r=0)
This news
article was posted only 6 days ago, but so much has happened since then. The four
main Ferguson officials who are the subject of the article have all resigned (or
been fired) from their positions. This is a step in the right direction, but
some say that there needs to be many more resignations.
The main focus
of the article is how systemic racism in the Ferguson police department and the
local court system had a devastating impact on minorities and particularly
African Americans. The author, Shaun King, describes how Ferguson police were
first in this discriminatory chain, stopping motorists with little cause and
pedestrians for petty infractions and issuing them tickets. King claims that Chief
Thomas Jackson oversaw a force that routinely violated the civil rights of
Black citizens in Ferguson.
Mary Ann Twitty,
clerk of the Ferguson court, was another cog in the crooked machine. The
article notes how Twitty routinely “fixed” tickets for White co-workers and
friends, while “sticking it” to Black defendants. She also sent out racist
emails to colleagues through her official government account.
Another piece of
the corrupt puzzle was Judge Ronald Brockmeyer. Author King lays out the case
for courthouse corruption by claiming that Brockmeyer added fees and fines to
Black defendants cases. He also was able to make his own traffic ticket disappear.
He is also the prosecutor in Vinita Park and Florissant, towns that have also
been accused of judicial injustice.
The final (as of
yet) provocateur in this situation is City Manager John Shaw, who King says is
the architect of the corrupt system. Ferguson revenue has increased yearly
since Shaw was hired, mainly due to police tickets and citations. The article
claims all the aforementioned work in concert with one another, and Manager
Shaw is the one running the show.
This article
illustrates how African American residents have been subsidizing the White
governed community of Ferguson by paying unfair, trumped up and inflated fines
and fees. This is akin to the days when slaves propped up the economy of the
antebellum South with their free, forced labor. Southern plantation owners
enjoyed great prosperity by not having to pay workers the going rate for labor.
I am dismayed Mayor James Knowles III still holds his position and has the audacity to state that a recall of his position would be of detriment to the city. As I read the statements of Mary Ann Twitty and former City Manager John Shaw I am perplexed by how such corrupt and disillusioned people came to power and how we as voting citizens can prevent toxic people like them from entering our systems of justice in the future.
ReplyDeleteNici, I too wondered how the largely African American population would elect these sort of people. I think the problem extends past Ferguson (I have read accounts of excessive judicial fines and jail time in Florissant as well. Here's an awful example: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-watch/wp/2014/09/03/how-st-louis-county-missouri-profits-from-poverty/). Mayor Knowles has said he has no plans to resign and the business community in Ferguson has rallied around to support him: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/03/15/ferguson-business-owners-end-unrest/24807699/). At this point, Mayor Knowles may be the subject of a recall effort.
ReplyDeleteI am glad that this time some justice is being done, but i don't think that it is enough. I think that everyone from the top down should be fired or resign. These types of things have been going on for years and we have just now decided to start back up the civil rights movements in a more modern way. I believe that this is a distrust within the African American and police which is why there are so many white police. We are taught not to trust the police, but especially if they are white. I think if there was a better mixture preferable more African Americans then that would begin to help solve some of the issues.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to see people being held accountable finally but I think this is just the beginning of a long road to justice. Too many African-Americans are being targeted for petty reasons and the fines are so high that the majority of people cannot pay them. The recently released DOJ is a stepping stone that will hopefully cause a ripple effect in other communities as well. Something that I read about and hear talked about often is that this is not just a Ferguson or St. Louis issue. I hope that light is brought to other parts of Missouri and the country as well after this report. Corruption is everywhere and it is up to us to expose this. Hopefully this movement will continue and bring light to the issues all over our country. I do not feel I have all the answers, but accountability is a good step.
ReplyDeleteI think, again, like some of the other articles posted this shows steps towards positive change. It is true that it may not be enough, now, but change takes time. I agree that is is exremely baffling as to how and why these people ever came into the positions they did, but I think this is just emphasizes even further the importance of voter education, not just in Ferguson, but everywhere. People need to be accurately informed prior to voting which, as I see it is hardly every a priority. Again, I am glad to know that these people are having action taken against them and it is likely a step in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the changes now taking place (including in the court system) will help in the long term. The next election in Ferguson should be interesting.
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