By 
It has been six years since the tragic death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, a monumental event that still feels just like yesterday as we are once again deep in the trenches of a racial war, this time over the death of George Floyd.
On the surface, not much has changed when it comes to racial discord in the St. Louis region and across the country; yet this week, in the midst of so much pain and discomfort, we celebrate history with the election of Ella Jones.
Jones is the first black woman and first woman to serve as mayor in the city of Ferguson, a community still shedding tears and rebuilding after the devastating unrest this week, with many buildings still boarded up today, a community that continues to be traumatized by a painful past.
Under the backdrop of peaceful protests by day that are a chorus for change, and violence and looting by night that are shattering hope for business owners who thought they dodged a health pandemic, residents cast their votes Tuesday to choose their next leader. Jones won with 54% of the vote against fellow council member Heather Robinett.
Despite the helplessness most are feeling about race relations, positive things have happened in the past six years, much summed up in a recent post by Darren Jackson, as seen below:
It goes without question that like other newly elected black leaders who are now in positions to fight systemic injustice, including St. Louis County Prosecutor, Wesley Bell, Jones has a long uphill battle ahead of her. Taking over the mayor’s seat from James Knowles – who served through the Ferguson unrest, then got reelected post-Ferguson with 57% of the vote – will come with many challenges, but it still gives hope to those who continue to fight for racial equality that not all is in vain.
Jones, a 40-year resident of Ferguson, is a graduate of University of Missouri-St. Louis, located in Ferguson, where she earned a bachelor’s of arts degree in chemistry. The first black woman to serve as member of the National Women’s Political Caucus, as well as an advocate for all residents (with special interest for youth’s well-being), is up for the task.
Of course, she will be criticized, she will face opposition, she will occasionally stumble as many politicians do, but Jones will forever be the first woman, the first black mayor of Ferguson, Missouri. Her victory is a testament that change can come with purposeful action, even in segregated St. Louis.
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