Some black and white facts about the American town of Ferguson
Most people had never heard of the town of Ferguson in Missouri, USA until the the police killing of black youngster Michael Brown and the resultant rioting by the local African-American community.
Ferguson is a town which has gone from 75% white to 67% black over the past 25 years. Yet, although two-thirds of residents are African-American:
- All but one of the members of the city council are white.
- All but three members of the local police force are white.
- The mayor is a white Republican.
How can this be? Only 12% of registered voters in the town cast a ballot in the municipal elections last year and whites were three times more likely to vote than black people. In 2011, an even lower turnout elected the white Republican mayor.
Throughput the democratic world, the poor and the disadvantaged are less inclined to vote than the wealthier and more privileged. As a result, the inequalities and injustices simply multiply. We have to use the power of the vote.