As the world watched the trauma porn of George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis it ignited outrage for the need for police reform like never before. After over 400 years America has finally reached a tipping point, a pivotal place in our history where conversations on police brutality, racism, and trauma in the black community must take place to bring about actions that birth permanent change in our nation.
The Michael Brown Foundation DBA Chosen For Change acknowledges that the need for true change in our country may often be felt the most by those seen as the least significant in our society- black men and that it will take a partnership between them and the most influential voices and dollars to see this change through. On August 9th, 2020 the father of Mike Brown, Michael Brown, Sr. is bridging the gap between the black board rooms of influencers and black fathers from across the nation. These black fathers are a part of Mr. Brown’s program Chosen Fathers. These men suffer an unimaginable pain daily from their child being ripped out of their lives by America’s systemic issue of police brutality or community violence that is rooted in racism.
Nearly 6 years ago when Mike Brown’s assassination in broad daylight in the middle of an apartment complex street in Ferguson, MO it sparked a fire that caused the world to stand up in solidarity. The difference between then and now is that in 2014 in Mike Brown’s death we didn’t have video evidence to watch and the bipolarity of our nation on this account was built on the false narratives created by both the whole Ferguson cover-up and how the media massaged it. Mike Brown equals Change. Following his death, there have been small changes in Ferguson and across the country that started the process of reform such as initiating the nationwide use of police body cameras.
What have our communities, our nation done to address the collective trauma, but most importantly the trauma caused to the immediate families of those killed without consequences? No trauma recovery program or assistance offered to the families, nothing. No amount of money can bring back their loved ones. In Ferguson, Michael Brown, Sr. and his foundation Chosen For Change (CFC) watched as over $23.6 Million dollars funneled through Ferguson in his son Mike Brown’s name, but not one dollar of that was even waved at them as it passed by. No one that created these brand new or existing businesses and organizations asked for Mr. Brown or his foundation to have a seat at the table or them welcomed in for a conversation on what the family would like changed or birthed from his son’s death.
One thing has been consistent, these businesses and organizations continue to speak the name of Mike Brown and Ferguson as their reasons for existing or working their mission. The one organization that has stood as an arm of support over the last 6 years is the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis led by Michael McMillan. Other leaders stop by CFC’s events for photo ops and have never so much as donated a penny or partnered with them. Hundreds of thousands of dollars poured into other organizations even without quantifiable change. All the while, the foundation fighting to create a legacy in his own son’s name- his name, Mike Brown, has to make sacrifices on a shoestring budget to work toward change one event at a time.
The name Mike Brown is so controversial in the Ferguson/St. Louis community that Mr. Brown is too much of a liability to be employed. With a family of 10 and his wife Cal on disability, how is this man supposed to provide for his family? Michael, a laid-back and soft-spoken type was forced into the position and responsibility of becoming a Transformative Speaker in order to contribute to his household and keep his son’s legacy alive.
A personal choice Mr. Brown made at the very beginning was to share his platform with other fathers facing the same pain. He started the Chosen Fathers program through his organization to do just that. The names like Mike Brown, George Floyd, Oscar Grant, Sandra Bland, Breonna Taylor only represent the few that make national news and come nowhere close to the sum of 1,098 lives that were taken by police across the US in 2019 alone. Now that we know where we’ve been, let’s talk about where we go from here America.
Don’t miss this Virtual Black Celebrities and Influencers Panel on August 9th, 2020. Registration will be provided on our website www.MichaelBrownFoundation.org. We are #ChosenForChange