Community Trauma and Racism as Catalysts for School Reform: A Case Study of Two Communities — Ferguson and St. Louis

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Five
  In Roundtable Session: Reimagining School Safety and Relational Ontologies Across Communities (Table 3)

Abstract

The 2014 death of 16-year-old Michael Brown Jr. by a policeman in Ferguson, Missouri, and the closure of several St. Louis community schools during the time of the highest child murder rates triggered community activism for school reform. Through preliminary ethnographic interviews, we will examine parallel responses to traumatic events experienced by African American citizens in Ferguson and the Jeff Vander Lou (St. Louis) communities. Parents and community members addressed challenges through their involvement in local school district programs and the formation of non-governmental organizations which challenged school board decisions. This case study is the first of several “community voice” inquiries which discuss the reasoning behind community-based actions toward school reform.

Authors

• Jacquelyn A. Lewis-Harris, University of Missouri - St. Louis
  Presenting Author

• Claire Martin, Webster University
  Presenting Author