A year ago, Ferguson, Missouri, was a mostly quiet working-class suburban town. The uneasy relationship between its growing black population and its mostly white police force barely registered in local headlines.
Everything changed on Aug. 9, 2014, when a white police officer named Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old. The street confrontation on that sultry day launched the “Black Lives Matter” movement.
Now the city government, and the streets themselves, look much different.
The city has a new police chief, a new city manager and a new municipal judge — all blacks who replaced white leaders. All Ferguson officers wear body cameras. The city council has new members, too, several of whom are black. And the business district that was at the center of last year’s sometimes-violent protests is slowly rebuilding.
The unrest that followed the shooting scarred a proud community, which has spent nearly a year trying to atone for past sins and move ahead.
Mayor James Knowles III acknowledged that events after Brown’s death exposed fissures that had long existed.
“For whatever reason in the past — either through lack of communication, lack of outreach — there were segments of the community that really felt like they were disaffected and not really part of the community,” said Knowles, who is white. “I think a year later, what you see is a community that’s much more engaged, wholly engaged.”
Adrian Shropshire, 62, and many other Ferguson residents applaud the changes, especially those aimed at overhauling the police force.
“When it comes to the community and law enforcement coming together, we’ve both dropped the ball,” said Shropshire, who is a black retired carpenter and runs a nonprofit job-training effort. “Most conflicts start with not listening. Everyone’s listening now.”
Wilson is long gone, having resigned in November, shortly after a St. Louis County grand jury cleared him of wrongdoing. Through his attorneys, he declined interview requests from The Associated Press.
In March, the U.S. Justice Department found no grounds to prosecute Wilson. But at the same time, the government issued a report so critical of Ferguson’s police and municipal court system that it hastened an upheaval in the town of 21,000 people, two-thirds of them black.
The result is a leadership becoming more reflective of the town’s demographics.
Within days of the federal report, top city officials resigned. The city chose the new judge, city manager and police chief on an interim basis. Two of the three city council members elected in April also are black, so blacks now hold three of six seats, compared with a single seat prior to the election.
The city has made it a priority to recruit more minority officers — an admittedly slow diversification effort that hinges on departmental turnover and the city’s ability to fend off area agencies that offer higher pay. At the time of the shooting, just three of Ferguson’s 53 officers were black. The department now has five African-Americans among a total of 50 officers, including the newly appointed interim chief, and has four budgeted positions still to fill, according to figures the city supplied to The Associated Press this week.
Within weeks of Brown’s death, Ferguson police began wearing body cameras donated to the city. Steps have been taken to establish a citizen police review board. Reforms in the police department and municipal courts have led to fewer traffic stops and fewer fines — and dealt a blow to the city budget.
In the first six months of the fiscal year that ended June 30, the city had a revenue deficit of almost $700,000 “due entirely to the shortfall in fines and public safety revenues,” according to a February report from the city finance director. Financial details for the full fiscal year have not been compiled, City Clerk Megan Asikainen said.
Interim Police Chief Andre Anderson wants officers engaging with the community, doing things like getting out of their cars and mingling. He has publicly acknowledged that he hopes to be considered for the job permanently, and has implored the city’s populace to help him “set a course in the history books that clearly proves that peace prevails.”
But some residents question the improvements. Emily Davis says she has seen little change for the better, especially along the busy roadway that was looted and burned.
“People are still being targeted by police officers,” the 38-year-old said. “If you talk to people who live on West Florissant, that is still happening. Our city government has not become any more communicative. They have not made any attempt to engage in dialogue — meaningful dialogue — with the citizens, which is not any different than it was a year ago.”
In May, on what would have been Michael Brown’s 19th birthday, family and community members cleared out a collection of stuffed animals, candles and other trinkets that for months served as a shrine in the middle of Canfield Drive, the site of the shooting. A permanent plaque in his memory was installed nearby.
Just a half mile away, the site of a QuikTrip that was looted and torched a night after Brown’s death is being transformed. The lot that had been the nexus of protests will become an “empowerment” center destined to offer workforce training and employment placement for underserved youth.
Elsewhere, major employers are hosting job fairs, and the University of Missouri-St. Louis is offering scholarships, all with a focus on helping minorities find better jobs.
Several businesses closed after the riots of August and November. Boarded-up buildings remain along parts of West Florissant Avenue. Others reopened, but recouping clientele has been slow.
West Florissant is poised to get $37 million in upgrades. The improvement plan is expected to include bricked sidewalks, bicycle lanes, stylish lampposts and landscaping.
State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, a black Democrat from St. Louis and a frequent Ferguson protester, said she has seen “drastic” improvements in the community. She called the response to Brown’s death a “defining moment in American history.”
“The cries from the people — it didn’t land on deaf ears,” Nasheed said. “They rose up and they did something that was very significant when it comes to race relations in America. And it was a great thing.”
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Timeline of events after death of Michael Brown
A timeline of key events following the fatal police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson.
AUG. 9, 2014 - Brown and a companion, both black, are confronted by an officer as they walk back to Brown's home from a convenience store. Brown and the officer, who is white, are involved in a scuffle, followed by gunshots. Brown dies at the scene, and his body remains in the street for four hours in the summer heat. Neighbors later lash out at authorities, saying they mistreated the body.
AUG. 10, 2014 - After a candlelight vigil, people protesting Brown's death smash car windows and carry away armloads of looted goods from stores. In the first of several nights of violence, looters are seen making off with bags of food, toilet paper and alcohol. Some protesters stand atop police cars and taunt officers.
AUG. 11, 2014 - The FBI opens an investigation into Brown's death, and two men who said they saw the shooting tell reporters that Brown had his hands raised when the officer approached with his weapon and fired repeatedly. That night, police in riot gear fire tear gas and rubber bullets to try to disperse a crowd.
AUG. 12, 2014 - Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson cancels plans to release the name of the officer who shot Brown, citing death threats against the police department and City Hall.
AUG. 14, 2014 - The Missouri Highway Patrol takes control of security in Ferguson, relieving St. Louis County and local police of their law-enforcement authority following four days of violence. The shift in command comes after images from the protests show many officers equipped with military style gear, including armored vehicles, body armor and assault rifles. In scores of photographs that circulate online, officers are seen pointing their weapons at demonstrators.
AUG. 15, 2014 - Police identify the officer who shot Brown as Darren Wilson, 28. They also release a video purporting to show Brown robbing a convenience store of almost $50 worth of cigars shortly before he was killed, a move that further inflames protesters.
AUG. 16, 2014 - Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon declares a state of emergency and imposes a curfew in Ferguson.
AUG. 17, 2014- Attorney General Eric Holder orders a federal medical examiner to perform another autopsy on Brown.
AUG. 18, 2014 - Nixon calls the National Guard to Ferguson to help restore order and lifts the curfew.
AUG. 19, 2014 - Nixon says he will not seek the removal of St. Louis County prosecutor Bob McCulloch from the investigation into Brown's death. Some black leaders questioned whether the prosecutor's deep family connections to police would affect his ability to be impartial. McCulloch's father was a police officer who was killed in the line of duty when McCulloch was a child, and he has many relatives who work in law enforcement.
AUG. 20, 2014 - Holder visits Ferguson to offer assurances about the investigation into Brown's death and to meet with investigators and Brown's family. In nearby Clayton, a grand jury begins hearing evidence to determine whether Wilson should be charged.
AUG. 21, 2014 - Nixon orders the National Guard to begin withdrawing from Ferguson.
SEPT. 25, 2014- Holder announces his resignation but says he plans to remain in office until his successor is confirmed.
SEPT. 25, 2014- Ferguson Chief Tom Jackson releases a videotaped apology to Brown's family and attempts to march in solidarity with protesters, a move that backfires when Ferguson officers scuffle with demonstrators and arrest one person moments after Jackson joins the group.
OCT. 10, 2014 - Protesters from across the country descend on the St. Louis region for "Ferguson October," four days of coordinated and spontaneous protests. A weekend march and rally in downtown St. Louis draws several thousand participants.
OCT. 13, 2014 - Amid a downpour, an interfaith group of clergy cross a police barricade on the final day of Ferguson October as part of an event dubbed "Moral Monday." The protests extend beyond Ferguson to sites such as the nearby headquarters of Fortune 500 company Emerson Electric and the Edward Jones Dome in downtown St. Louis, site of a Monday Night Football game between the St. Louis Rams and the San Francisco 49ers.
OCT. 21, 2014 - Nixon pledges to create an independent Ferguson Commission to examine race relations, failing schools and other broader social and economic issues in the aftermath of Brown's death.
NOV. 17, 2014 - The Democratic governor declares a state of emergency and activates the National Guard again ahead of a decision from a grand jury. He places the St. Louis County Police Department in charge of security in Ferguson, with orders to work as a unified command with St. Louis city police and the Missouri Highway Patrol.
NOV. 18, 2014 - Nixon names 16 people to the Ferguson Commission, selecting a diverse group that includes the owner of construction-supply company, two pastors, two attorneys, a university professor, a 20-year-old community activist and a police detective. Nine of its members are black. Seven are white.
NOV. 24, 2014 - Prosecutor announces that grand jury decides not to indict Wilson. During ensuing protests, at least a dozen buildings and multiple police cars are burned, officers are hit by rocks and batteries and reports of gunfire force some St. Louis-bound flights to be diverted.
A closer look at the community of Ferguson
HISTORY: Incorporated in 1894 by founder William B. Ferguson as a railroad depot, the town quickly grew into a hub for freight and passenger traffic and a bedroom community for city workers. It also attracted many freed slaves looking for a home after the Civil War.
Before school desegregation, Ferguson and other parts of north St. Louis County were predominantly white. The racial makeup changed as many white suburban families moved to outlying areas such as St. Charles County, parts of which are more than 40 miles from St. Louis. Today, Ferguson is nearly 70 percent black.
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POPULATION AND POVERTY: By 2010, the census counted about 21,000 people in Ferguson, which is about 10 miles north of downtown St. Louis in the broader area known to locals as North County. Fewer than half of the approximately 9,100 homes are owner-occupied, and about a quarter of residents live below the federal poverty level.
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COMMERCE: Ferguson is home of the global headquarters of Emerson Electric Co., a Fortune 500 company that employs more than 130,000 workers worldwide. Just outside the city limits is Express Scripts, the nation's largest company that manages pharmacy benefits. Earlier this year, the corporation announced a $56 million expansion that will add 1,500 jobs. Ferguson's former rail depot is home to a redevelopment effort aimed at promoting small businesses in a pedestrian-friendly corridor, with a weekly farmers market and outdoor concerts in the summer.
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SCHOOLS: Several North County school districts including the Normandy system from which Brown recently graduated lost state accreditation because of declining test scores and other academic shortcomings. Some students from the failing districts were bused to better-performing schools in other districts.
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RACIAL CONCERNS: Some Ferguson protesters have complained that members of the city's predominantly white police force disproportionately target black motorists during traffic stops. A 2013 report by the Missouri attorney general's office found that Ferguson police stopped and arrested black drivers nearly twice as frequently as white motorists but were also less likely to find contraband among the black drivers.