Kayla Reed and Brittany Packnett Cunningham found their voices as activists during the Ferguson Uprising. They also forged a bond and strong friendship. So what happens when Brittany leaves St. Louis and Kayla stays? And how does that impact the community work they did over the years?

Ferguson showed what happens when a community comes together to protest power and obtain meaningful change from it, but power doesn’t like to retreat. What happens to people who feel elite, and untouchable, when the city around them rises up to expose and oppose them? What happens when power takes a different shape — obscuring its nature and staying in its position? In this episode, we examine a protest story decades before the Ferguson Uprising — the story of those who worked to take down the Veiled Prophet.

On Wednesday, Aug. 6, St. Louis Public Radio and NPR news co-hosted "Ferguson and Beyond: A Community Conversation 10 Years Later" at Greater St. Mark Family Church, just miles from the epicenter of protests sparked by the killing of Michael Brown, Jr. by a Ferguson police officer in August 2014. This bonus episode presents highlights from that event, with a panel and audience Q&A moderated by NPR “Morning Edition” host Michel Martin and a special performance by St. Louis spoken word artist, poet, and community arts educator Pacia Elaine Anderson.

In St. Louis, many Black families moved to St. Louis County for better school districts. But after some time, those districts started having their own issues: white flight, decaying property values and consolidations. Some families moved even further northwest, only to face neighbors trying to prevent Black history from being taught. In this episode, we explore why St. Louis schools are more segregated than they were 10 years ago — and meet the parents determined to do right by their kids.

Ferguson exposed systems that disenfranchise Black St. Louisans and fail their basic mandates to provide safety, health and community to the people who depend on them. Inspired by the Uprising and driven by experience and anger, many people found their voices and created their own new systems designed to help their community thrive. In this episode, we explore the creation of Love Bank Park, the closing of the Medium Security Institution known as the Workhouse, and the restorative justice movement.

What do you do when you get so angry, the emotion overtakes you? When injustice sparks a fire that won’t die down? For artists during the Ferguson Uprising, their craft offered them a way to make sense of Michael Brown Jr.’s killing. This special episode features songs, poems and a play from St. Louis-based artists who — 10 years later — are still reflecting on how Ferguson changed them and their art.

Many people found their power and voices in the midst of the Ferguson Uprising. Some used streaming technology as they found themselves defining their own class of media, with no editors and no rules. They brought the story of the Ferguson Uprising live to our computers and smartphones. Their dispatches from the frontlines kept viewers up to date while the national news played catch up. Their stories didn’t end in 2014, though, as many of them continued to demonstrate for causes in the St. Louis area to the present or until their deaths.

Michael Brown Jr. has become a symbol and a gateway for people to talk about racial injustice and policing. We explore how people view Brown’s legacy, what young adults today know about his story and how his memory has shaped new conversations about race and justice.

It’s been 10 years since Michael Brown was killed and the Ferguson Uprising that followed. To honor that history, We Live Here is returning for a special season with host Chad Davis and producer Danny Wicentowski. They reflect on some of the truths that Ferguson exposed, why there still is an open wound a decade later, and how community members continue to push for a better future.

As we strive to understand, include and serve our community, we look to you as an essential resource for the things that matter to you, our audience. This special series of We Live Here centers the voices, concerns, perspectives and experiences of Women. Living life in a larger body, especially as a woman, comes with scrutiny and assumptions about acceptability, worthiness and quality of life.

Today we follow the story of one woman who intentionally de-weaponized and reclaimed the word fat as an adjective. Ebbi Nicole, Founder & Chief flufftivist of Fluffy GRL Movement celebrates, elevates and educates the plus-size experience through events, workshops and storytelling in brave spaces.

What does Empower the Fluff mean to you?

To Empower the Fluff means to fill the void and unapologetically amplify the voices of this marginalized community that still experiences socially acceptable hate (fatphobia) on micro and macro levels.

A huge thank you to Ebbi Nicole for sharing your story with we live here. For more from Ebbi and the FlffyGRL movement, be sure to give a listen to her new podcast Ebbi & Flow wherever you get your podcasts! FlffyGRL is a local movement that seeks to celebrate body diversity and build a community for plus-sized women. Learn more at empowerthefluff.com.

Thanks for listening in - what’s your story? We’d love to hear from you. Let us know what you love about We Live Here Auténtico and the stories of our community. Or maybe you are ready to share your own story - send us an email at [email protected].

Today we’re joined by Ben Molina. Originally from Bolivia, Ben is passionate about elder care and his work at the Alzheimer’s association is making a difference in the Hispanic community. Ben opens up about his journey with depression, finding love and his calling in his field. He discusses the challenges of a disease that disproportionately affects Hispanics and gives us some advice on the conversations and planning that we should start to have in our own families.

Ben’s superpower is Empathy! “I don’t know how I discovered it. I was always very sensitive to other people and very observant of other people. Also, my mom had a wonderful way of always encouraging us to think positive about people and situations. It’s helped me a lot in the field of social work”, says Ben.

What does living Autentico mean to you?

Autentico means being comfortable in my own skin regardless of the situation. If I am comfortable and honest in who I am, then you are getting the best version of me that I can be.

About Ben

Ben Molina is a Bolivian-born St. Louis City resident. He’s been living in St. Louis for 8 years. Ben has a master’s degree in social work from Washington University and currently serves as Program Manager for the Alzheimer’s Association, Greater Missouri Chapter. Ben is also on the Board for Social Work Leaders in Healthcare.

Mentioned in this episode:

• What is Alzheimer’s: https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-alzheimers
• Latinos & Alzheimer’s Disease: New numbers behind the crisis: https://www.usagainstalzheimers.org/sites/default/files/Latinos-and-AD_USC_UsA2-Impact-Report.pdf
• Links to power of attorneys/ financial: https://missourilawyershelp.org/legal-topics/durable-power-of-attorney-for-health/
• Poder Notarial Duradero para el Cuidado de Salud y Directiva de Cuidado Médico: https://missourilawyershelp.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Durable-Power-of-Attorney-Full-Booklet-4-25-17-Spanish.pdf

Connections:

• Connect with Ben Molina on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bennmolina

Music Guide:

Segment 1

• Good As Hell (Clean Version) - Lizzo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QskZIrbRt7c
• Lady Gaga, Ariana Grande - Rain On Me https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoAm4om0wTs

Segment 2

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tgspkNRIcc&ab_channel=KaceyMusgravesVEVO
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0X03zR0rQk
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpwSV1QBd8M&list=OLAK5uy_m4wNZ2nJPQ9ACIaRbcxcsMxZM6oC6MsSk&index=5&ab_channel=NLaFourcadeVEVO

Segment 3

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msl2fl3h59I
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSfH2AuhXfw
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83S-KtvGM2M&ab_channel=CeliaCruzVEVO

Thanks for listening in - what’s your story? We’d love to hear from you. Let us know what you love about We Live Here Auténtico and the stories of our community. Or maybe you are ready to share your own story - send us an email at [email protected].