Tomorrow, as the nation marks five years since the police killing of teenager Mike Brown, Jr., and the series of protests known as the Ferguson Uprising, a group of residents in Ferguson have been working locally since 2014 to take back their power. We are proud to shine a spotlight on our grassroots partner, the Ferguson Collaborative, in our new report, "The Genius of Ordinary People: How the Ferguson Collaborative Became the Voice of the Community."
 

The report, the first from our Justice Project program, examines how a group of Ferguson community members became activists, challenging the City’s unconstitutional policing and criminal legal system practices. This group of residents and allies have spent the last five years putting the pressure on local and federal policymakers and courts, ousting a court-appointed official, rallying for the dismissal of thousands of municipal court cases and positioning themselves in powerful seats – including the Ferguson City Council.

After most national media and justice advocates left Ferguson and turned their attention elsewhere, Advancement Project National Office stayed to help the Ferguson Collaborative build their work. While the Collaborative disrupted City Council meetings, organized community members and pushed to hold both the City and the Department of Justice accountable, Advancement Project National Office stood with them, providing legal advice, organizing tools and communications support.

Read the “The Genius of Ordinary People” and share it with your network using our social media kit. Follow the conversation with #FergusonAfter5 across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The Ferguson Collaborative is a testament to how communities can build power – and our partnership is the epitome of how the Advancement Project model works.
 

Thomas B. Harvey,
Justice Project Director,
Advancement Project National Office