After unrest, what’s next for Ferguson?
For the past two weeks in Ferguson, Mo., even in the thick of the protests and riots that erupted after an unarmed black teenager was killed by a white police officer, hair salon Clip Appeal opened like clockwork, just as it has done for years.
“We have to stay open. This is our livelihood and we still have bills to pay,” said Buffi Blanchard, a stylist who works at the salon on West Florissant Avenue.
By Wednesday this past week, even businesses that were damaged in the unrest began showing signs of life. All along West Florissant, shop owners were busy sweeping up glass and nailing boards on their windows in an effort to protect what was left.
The people of Ferguson are now trying to do what the shop owners are doing — sweep up the mess and rebuild.
The challenge: How to keep the peace, yet reject henceforth the culture of political apathy that has so crippled Ferguson’s black community.
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About the Author
Ernie Suggs is an enterprise reporter covering race and culture for the AJC since 1997. A 1990 graduate of N.C. Central University and a 2009 Harvard University Nieman Fellow, he is also the former vice president of the National Association of Black Journalists. His obsession with Prince, Spike Lee movies, Hamilton and the New York Yankees is odd.
