Northland Chop Suey in Ferguson is still open despite extensive damage.
Ferguson, MO, a suburb of St. Louis, has been pushed to a breaking point that few, if any, communities in the United States could bear. Besides witnessing the senseless death of a young, unarmed man who was bound for college, the town has had to deal with an outsized, militarized police presence since Brown was killed. Looting and rioting Sunday night caused serious damage and economic loss to over a dozen businesses in the community. Residents have had to deal with martial law the past couple of days, with law enforcement treating the city like a war zone.
Despite all of this, Ferguson is keeping it together. Instead of dividing the community, these events of the past few days have brought the residents closer together. Business owners who experienced severe damage and economic loss have reopened their doors to let their neighbors know that they won’t be leaving. People from all over have joined in an effort to clean up and repair the damage that local stores and homes have suffered. More than anything, everyone has embraced each other as neighbors and friends, letting the world know that the real story isn’t about stores losing merchandise one evening. No, the story is about the real tragedy at the center of it all — the death of ‘Big Mike,’ Michael Brown, Jr.
Below are photographs I took in Ferguson on Wednesday. Hopefully, they help convey the true sense of unity and solidarity within the community.
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I spoke with a couple of young men who are down in Ferguson on behalf of the Passage Community Church in nearby Florissant. While some from the church were helping to clean up the streets and lots, these two were part of a crew that was helping to cover up graffiti and other defacement of property. In this instance, they used spraypaint to clean up a mailbox that had been tagged. One part of the mailbox said ‘Avenge Mike Brown’ while another section was tagged with ‘F*ck The Police.’
Further along, I ran into a some local residents who were moving from one section that had just been cleaned to another area that needed help. Taracia, a local resident, was joined by her cousin and another friend, Charles. Taracia, still in her work clothes, said she had initially come down to First Baptist Church in Ferguson Wednesday morning as she heard they were looking for volunteers. Per Taracia, ”I am just trying to do something positive for the community.”
One of the places volunteers are using as a place to use the restroom or grab a drink of water is Sam’s Meat Market. The store was hit hard by looters Sunday evening. Despite the store having a number of windows boarded up and extensive damage inside, owner Muhamad Yaacoub explicitly stated that he is not moving the store, and it is currently open for business. Yaacoub, who also owns a restaurant in the area, insists that he is part of the community and only wants to see the town thrive.
One of his employees, Marcella Armenta, who was helping him Muhamad hand water and soda to volunteers, also spoke at length about Mike Brown. She said he was a regular customer of theirs and described him as “quiet” and a “good kid.” She wanted to make sure to dispel any rumors that might have floated around about Brown, such as him being a shoplifter.
The people of Ferguson want the world to know that they will stand together and persevere.
Justin Baragona is the Managing Editor at Politicus Sports as well as Senior Editor at PoliticusUSA. He was a political writer for 411Mania.com before joining PoliticusUSA. Politically, Justin considers himself a liberal but also a realist and pragmatist. Currently, Justin lives in St. Louis, MO and is married. Besides writing, he also runs his own business after spending a number of years in the corporate world. You can follow Justin on Twitter either with his personal handle (@justinbaragona) or the Sports site’s (@PoliticusSports).
