. . . so much about this forum has been rewarding, even in the face of the often trivial and mostly meaningless fights over politicians - most notably, for me, the way in which so many people have come together to elevate the concerns of this relatively small town into our discussions and debates.
What I'd like to do, moving forward, is to focus more on ways in which we can transfer much of the energy and attention generated out of this tragedy into political action.
Baynard Rustin, a key organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, argued in his book, 'Strategies for Freedom', that for any movement to have a permanent and transforming imprint, it should have a legislative goal attached which will transcend the whims of the emotions of the moment. Describing a different struggle that America faced with the advancement of civil rights, he wrote that:
"Moral fervor can't maintain your movement, nor can the act of participation itself. There must be a genuine commitment to the advancement of the people. To have such a commitment is also to have a militant sense of responsibility, a recognition that actions have consequences which have a very real effect on the individual lives of those one seeks to advance."
"Far too many movements lack both a (legislative) perspective and a sense of responsibility, and they fail because of it," Ruskin wrote.
That's the kind of effort I believe is already underway in MO., and it's my hope and aim that we elevate that fight and struggle into our debates and discussion with the same fervor and attention that we provided to the resistance to the protests and demonstrations.
Thanks for your own attention and dedication to these issues and advocacy that have been elevated out of the tragedy and resulting chaos in Ferguson. I, too, am looking forward to our continuing focus on those concerns and remedies in the coming days, weeks, and beyond.
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