Forward Through Ferguson

After the killing of Michael Brown, Jr. on August 9, 2014, “Ferguson” came to symbolize racial strife and inequity in the United States. Throughout this country, the circumstances surrounding and following his death have sharply defined race-based challenges that demand transformation. The alternative to change is to accept an untenable environment that is fraught with racial inequities and continued conflict.                   

To name the race-based challenges demanding transformation, Missouri’s Governor asked a group of regional leaders — The Ferguson Commission — to complete a “thorough, wide-ranging and unflinching study of the social and economic conditions that impede progress, equality and safety in the St. Louis region.” In 2015, Forward Through Ferguson (FTF) was established as a 501(c)3 to be a catalyst for lasting positive change in the St. Louis region as outlined in the Ferguson Commission Report. FTF centers impacted communities and mobilizes accountable bodies to advance racially equitable systems and policies that ensure all people in the St. Louis region can thrive.                                                        

To meet its mission, FTF:

• Tells stories (storytelling) that amplify the lived experiences of impacted communities and people
• Provides support and strategy for coalitions and other organizing groups advancing policy or systems change.
• Makes policy recommendations grounded in trailblazing data & research.
• Provides Racial Equity capacity building for change-makers to advance Racial Equity by providing round tables, workshops, and equity assessments.
• Leads next practices in Justice Philanthropy to ensure sustainable resources that empower people of color to lead, and that heal the core and change the conditions of racial inequities.

Change needs to occur in nearly all systems in the St. Louis region to achieve Racial Equity. For the strategic pillars of storytelling, coalition support, policy recommendations, and Racial Equity capacity building, FTF focuses on projects and initiatives that advance the Four Signature Priority areas, as called out in the Ferguson Commission Report: Justice for All, Opportunity to Thrive, Youth at the Center, and Racial Equity.