Ferguson X: A Conversation With Mike Brown Sr.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch / Getty

I n recognition of the 10th anniversary of both the brutal public execution of 18-year-old Michael Brown, Jr. , by former Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, on August 9th, 2014, and the uprising that called a movement together that followed, Tory Russell, a lead organizer of the Ferguson Rebellion, political campaign strategist, and Mission Director of The International Black Freedom Alliance, recently sat down for a conversation with Mike Brown, Sr.

Tory knew that we needed to start where Michael Brown started: With his family. To that end, two days ago, on Aug. 7th in St. Louis, he and scholar and professor, Dr. Travis Harris, met with Brown Sr.

MORE: Ferguson X: Mike Brown Should Be Here, Be 28, And Be Living His Best Life

Dr. Travis was living in Virginia and just beginning his graduate work at the College of William and Mary when the horror of August 9th – and the power of the uprising – unfolded. He traveled to Ferguson for the first time in October 2014 to lend his body, breath and brilliance to the national call to action by Tory in the fall of that year. He went back to finish his PhD, but his heart never really left Ferguson and over the years, he built deep relationships, including with Tory and Mike Brown Sr.

“He’s a soft-spoken, quiet man,” Tory told NewsOne about Brown Sr.

“I asked him if he thought that it could be his son laying there in that street,” Dr. Travis said in a voice that was equal parts calm and brimming with emotion.

Mr. Brown paused, but only slightly, and then answered: “I always thought it would be me.”

Tory said, “Me too. That’s why I do this work. I always thought it would be me laying there. But when they killed one of our children, I knew exactly what I needed to commit my life to.”

With love, grace, hope and gratitude, here is Ferguson X: NewsOne’s conversation with Mike Brown Sr.

SEE ALSO:

‘The Work That Remains’: Ben Crump Commemorates Michael Brown’s Life 10 Years Later With A Call To Action

Michael Brown And The Legacy Of Police Violence In Black Communities

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