Resident Patrick Milford designed a graphic based upon the St. Louis flag to reflect his feelings on what's been happening in Ferguson, hoping supporters will use his graphic any way they see fit, including on social media.
"I remember watching a live stream of the Mike Brown protests Wednesday night," Milford tells RFT Music. "When the police responded with military-grade force on the (mostly) peaceful crowd, I felt incredibly helpless about the whole situation. The next day, I decided to create this graphic to express how I felt."
"St. Louis often gets a bad rap from outsiders. Clearly, our city is not perfect. Far from it," Milford adds. "This is my way of saying that I love and support this city, even in light of recent events. The Brown family, Ferguson and St. Louis need our support now more than ever."
@AMBabka @RiverfrontTimes Even in light of recent events, I still love our flawed city. #STL #MikeBrown #Ferguson pic.twitter.com/VmQZgHePbV
— Patrick Milford (@P_Milford) August 14, 2014Humans of St. Louis has been publishing its insightful, character-driven photography since May, but the group recently shifted its focus to bring attention to those in Ferguson.
Ferguson business owner Karen Gold created a collage called "Human" in response to the situation.
"I have been saddened by the whole chain of events that has occurred," Gold shares. "Ferguson is a fine community, and I hope and pray that a peaceful and just resolution can be found."
Linda Austin, an author who specializes in writing about family and community legacy, responded to our request with a poem she had posted after watching events unfold.
@AMBabka
Protestors standing
against a wall of police
angry eyes begging
the world to see their pain
the sound cannon screams
#tanka #StL
— Linda Austin (@moonbridgebooks) August 15, 2014@AMBabka Yes, original tweet 8/14 after watching live feed nite of 8/13. I write haiku, tanka. Also tweeted comment to the stlcountypd
— Linda Austin (@moonbridgebooks) August 15, 2014Chelsea Embree is a St. Louis native currently living in Idaho. "I can't stop thinking about the situation," Embree tells us, explaining why she had written several poems about Brown and Ferguson on her Tumblr.
"Humidity" by Chelsea EmbreeMy heart goes out to as in this thing, which weighs a ton, these days, seeks
out, seeks home across the country, like it's pushing from within because of pulling. Half-awake, I drew
maps on my hands, forearms, tattooed them over half of my head as if I was afraid of forgetting. In St. Louis, could still
drive there without the windows--paint them black. Would arrive safely, of course, because this has been guaranteed to me. My heart
goes out to means please, take it. Means easier to let it than to be contained. I belong in the city that's mourning, as though belonging were mourning with them, as though that were enough. Conditional conjugations only
make sense in Spanish. Here--there--the language is hands in the air.
