St. Louis resident and poet Aaron Coleman shares an original piece he's written to express his thoughts and feelings post-August 9th. 

Read more about Aaron and the arts as an expression here: http://stlpositivechange.org/newsroom/release/arts-speak

Aaron Coleman: Bridge Named Chain of Rocks

St. Louis resident and poet Aaron Coleman shares a Gwendolyn Brooks poem he's found comfort in post-August 9th. 

Read more about Aaron and the arts as an expression here: http://stlpositivechange.org/newsroom/release/arts-speak

Piano After War
By Gwendolyn Brooks

On a snug evening I shall watch her fingers,
Cleverly ringed, declining to clever pink,
Beg glory from the willing keys. Old hungers
Will break their coffins, rise to eat and thank.
And music, warily, like the golden rose
That sometimes after sunset warms the west,
Will warm that room, persuasively suffuse
That room and me, rejuvenate a past.
But suddenly, across my climbing fever
Of proud delight—a multiplying cry.
A cry of bitter dead men who will never
Attend a gentle maker of musical joy.
Then my thawed eye will go again to ice.
And stone will shove the softness from my face.

Aaron Coleman: Piano After War

When native Ohioan Mike F. moved to St. Louis a year ago, he and his wife decided to live in an area very different from where they'd been raised. He describes a visiting older family member's response to their new neighborhood.

What's familiar, new, comfortable

St. Louis resident Mustafa A. describes a fond childhood scene related to two significant moments in his life: an encounter years ago at the Atlanta airport; and the death of Michael Brown, Jr., and the events that followed.


Is justice really for all?

Hedy E.'s first lesson in American history came less than two weeks after she moved to the U.S. in 1948. She tells the story of a lunch invitation that led to another first, and a pivotal reality check.

"She kept saying no..."

Angela B. talks about her hopes for — and expectations of — the body that carries Forward Through Ferguson’s calls to action from recommendation to actual change. To see materials from the November 2015 meeting, which featured a FOCUS St. Louis proposal and both public and Commission responses to it, visit http://stlpositivechange.org/content/commission-meeting-18. The last full/public meeting happens Monday, December 7th, before the Commission sunsets on December 31, 2015.

"What makes this different?"

The only way forward is through. The Ferguson Commission sets the table through uncomfortable conversations, investment, empathy and facing our present.

STL Positive Change