Ferguson Movement Transforms Civilians Into Activists
Washington Post social change reporter Sandhya Somashekhar took a look at some of the non-traditional leaders of the Ferguson-based movement for justice in the Michael Brown case.
There's Shermale Humphrey, a 21-year-old who quit her job at a St. Louis Subway to organize acts of civil disobedience; she's currently couch-surfing.
There's DeRay Mckesson, a 29-year-old school administrator who flies from Minneapolis to Ferguson on his days off to protest. He co-produces an almost-daily newsletter, Words to Action, with Twitter star Johnetta Elzie.
And then there's Charles Wade, a 32-year-old stylist from Austin who has raised $35,000 in protestor-support funds on Twitter. He's taken up residence at a St. Louis airport hotel and he hosts Sunday dinners for protestors.
These activists aren't your traditional organizers, according to Somashekha:
[A] common thread runs through some of the most influential organizers. They are black, relatively new to civil rights activism and technologically savvy, masters of social media. Using Twitter, Vine and Instagram, they mobilize their peers, document every twist and turn, and annotate history in real time.
A November 10 tweet from Mckesson sums up their guiding principle:
"Silence will lure you with its promise of comfort. But silence will drain your spirit and weaken your soul. Silence corrupts. #Ferguson."