Saint Louis, Mo. — Gov. Jay Nixon announced the names of 16 men and women from the St. Louis area tasked with serving on the Ferguson Commission as the world awaits a grand jury decision in the investigation of the shooting of Michael Brown.
“These sixteen men and women bring to the table a rich diversity of life experience and points of view – business owners and not-for-profit leaders; teachers and lawyers; police officers and activists; pastors and public servants,” Nixon said. “But while they are clearly a diverse group, they are united by their shared passion to promote understanding, to hasten healing, to ensure equal opportunities in education and employment, and to safeguard the civil rights of all our citizens.”
The Commission’s task will be to conduct a study, due to be completed in September of 2015, in order to address some of the underlying social and economic issues brought to light by the events of Ferguson.
According to Nixon’s executive order forming the commission, they will be specifically asked for policy recommendations in a wide variety of subjects including: citizen-law enforcement interaction and relations; racial and ethnic relations; municipal government organization and the municipal court system; and disparities in areas including education, economic opportunity, housing, transportation, health care, child care, business ownership, and family and community stability.
Protests ranging from only a few to crowds of several hundred have gathered across the St. Louis region since early August, when Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was unarmed. While police have maintained Brown was charging Wilson when he was killed, several eyewitnesses have claimed Brown died while attempting to surrender.
Nixon announced on Monday that he was calling up Missouri’s National Guard forces in anticipation of a grand jury decision slated for the coming days that will decide whether or not Wilson will be indicted in Brown’s death. Protestors and organizers have promised mass demonstrations if the officer is not indicted.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch has said the decision will come before the end of the month, but could not elaborate further, leaving some St. Louisians anxious about the potential turmoil.
The full Ferguson Commission roster includes:
Rev. Starsky Wilson, CEO of the Deaconess Foundation (co-chair);
Rich McClure, former president and COO of Unigroup (co-chair);
Reverend Traci Blackmon, Pastor of Christ the King United Church of Christ;
Dan Isom II, Director of the Missouri Department of Public Safety;
Scott Negwer, President of Negwer Materials in Ferguson;
Bethany Johnson-Javois, CEO of the St. Louis Integrated Health Network;
Gabriel E. Gore, attorney and partner at the law firm of Dowd Bennett LLC;
Brittany Packnett, Executive Director of Teach For America;
Rose Windmiller, Assistant Vice Chancellor for Government & Community Relations at Washington University.
Rasheen Aldridge, Jr., community organizer and Director of Young Activists United;
Grayling Tobias, Superintendent of the Hazelwood School District;
Becky James-Hatter, President and CEO, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Missouri;
Felicia Pulliam, Director of Development for FOCUS St. Louis and Ferguson resident;
Kevin Ahlbrand, Detective Sergeant with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and President of the Missouri State Fraternal Order of Police
Patrick Sly, Executive Vice-President, Emerson;
T.R. Carr, Jr., Professor of Public Administration at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville;
Collin Reischman was the Managing Editor for The Missouri Times, and a graduate of Webster University with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.
