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FERGUSON, Mo. – In the daylight, it was hard to find my bearings on West Florissant Avenue when I arrived for a reporting trip in July.
Although I had been to the city more than a half-dozen times in the last year – sometimes for days at a time – most of my memories of that road were from after dark.
In the days following the deadly altercation between Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson and 18-year-old Michael Brown, West Florissant Avenue, the strip of Ferguson’s main drag, seemed so massive.
That road was where a tremendous nationwide movement would be formed.
In August of last year, I remember running up and down West Florissant with my gas mask in one hand and a cell phone in the other, desperately trying to document everything I observed during the night protests. The street was filled with thousands of people shouting, singing and chanting in the sweltering summer heat. Some wore bandanas over their faces. Others carried homemade posters demanding justice.
Rows of police officers with large guns slung across their chests and shields over their faces stood tall across from marching protesters. Many traveled in military-style vehicles, pushing the crowd back with tear gas, shouting warnings over a loud speaker. One officer handed me a cloth to protect my eyes.
Protesters – some with bull horns – chanted phrases, such as, “No Justice. No Peace,” and “Hands up. Don’t Shoot.”
The road was littered with concrete bricks and debris. Every few feet, I came across empty tear gas and smoke canisters.
The nights were chaotic and long.
I was there again in November when a grand jury announced Wilson wasn't going to be indicted for shooting and killing Brown.
I stood in the frigid night air, as business fires blazed uncontrollably on both sides of me. A fire truck on the scene could not access the buildings because the area was too crowded with people and too dangerous.
So the buildings burned.
The sound of gunfire popped loudly and rapidly in several directions.
A journalist from a different television network helped me duck down behind my vehicle for protection. I was afraid to take off my bulletproof vest until the end of the night, when I returned to my hotel.
But this year, when I approached the same street in the summer sun, West Florissant Avenue seemed so tiny.
Instead of walls of police vehicles and protestors, the road quietly bustled with vehicles. A street sweeper cruised by, cleansing the road that had been ground zero for so much action over the last year.
I could see boarded-up businesses that had yet to reopen, and some that were operating despite unfinished repairs.
This time, Ferguson looked much different.
But beyond physical appearances, was the city different? Had Ferguson changed? Had the long-bubbling problems that led to the outcry on Florissant been addressed? Were things getting better?
America Tonight asked those questions to many different people over the last month – and we received many different answers. Here are some takes on how Ferguson has changed and where it's headed. Answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.
Bo Dean was among the first protesters to gather at the Ferguson QuikTrip, the store wrongly rumored to be the place Brown robbed prior to his death. Dean said arsonists set the shop on fire. It ultimately burned to the ground.
Dean, a rising hip-hop star in the St. Louis area, said at least six of his songs have been inspired by the events in Ferguson, including one in which he urges people to be comfortable in their own skin; be proud to be black, he said.
“We’re a strong race of people,” he said. “That shows by the protests and marches … We need to unite more because when we unite and come together, we’re powerful.”
His take:
Still a lot of things that need to change. And not just within this area but St. Louis in general. Especially dealing with police and black relations.
The things that we want to improve on, needs to be handled better because a lot of innocent lives are still being lost around here, from police brutality that could have been easily avoided and handled differently. So like, that's the main thing that needs to change. Not just here, but as you can see like all over and not, not every cop is bad. But not every person that they run into is a thug or trying to kill him.
Donald McCullin, 74, a former Missouri Circuit Court judge was recently appointed to the Ferguson Municipal Court system after the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division found unconstitutional practices within the city's revenue-driven system.
The report found the court “imposed particular hardship on Ferguson’s most vulnerable residents, especially those living in or near poverty.” The city made changes within the system by eliminating unnecessary administrative fees and punishments for failure to appear in court. It also capped the amount of revenue the city could generate from traffic tickets and allowed for some arrest warrants to be nullified.
Although the law only permits McCullin to serve until he is 75, he said he has already observed many changes within the court system in Ferguson and will help manage the reforms.
His take:
I think [the court has] come a long way. I think it came a long way before I ever got there. The county council abolished several fines. The state court handed down a rule making sure that individuals' ability to pay was taken into account.
I think much has been accomplished already. It's not a difficult process to address the concerns. Once you address the concerns, then it's business as usual in terms of operation. So I think once we do that, anybody who takes my place can just take the ball and run with it.
Mumtaz Lalani owned a popular strip mall on Florissant Avenue that burned to the ground in November. But it was only last month when construction crews were finally able to start the demolition process to make way for something new.
Lalani said vandals damaged his businesses at least four times over the last year. Last August, a large crowd gathered in the parking lot his nearby store, Dellwood Market, and watched as one man shot out the front window to gain access. Dozens of people stormed inside, ransacking and looting the store.
His take:
Mentally, I’m destructed. Changes are not in a positive way. You always worry what’s going to happen and so on. Even my employees were very much worried and concerned, so I have hired a security guard, you know, and it’s costing me a lot of money, but that’s for the safety of my employees.
You know this has happened in so many different places in America, and I think people are more aware and they are more concerned and I think everybody has learned some lessons. Also, the police department now they can’t just shoot and ask questions like they used to do before, so I think that has changed.
Chris Holloman lived and worked at Canfield Apartments on the day Brown was killed. He remembered seeing Brown’s body in the street and watched as hundreds of people flocked to pay respects at a growing memorial.
Holloman said the complex used to teem with police officers near the end of each month. His friends, he said, wouldn’t visit him as often because officers frequently patrolled and made arrests. He said he sees fewer officers in the area now.
His take:
[Right now is] probably the most peaceful it's ever been... since the events….
It's quiet. I mean, you know, you don't hear any sirens, you don't hear any gunshots. You don't hear any yelling and screaming, it's peaceful. This is the way it was, August 8th, the way it is now today.
I believe the rest is going to lie with the people. We have to get out and vote if we want change. If you feel that the person in office isn't doing their job and there's an election coming up, you should vote. We, as Ferguson, should vote.
Capt. Ron Johnson was called in last August to help bridge the gap between police and the community in the midst of the unrest. He worked around the clock trying to keep the peace, often chatting with any community member who stopped him to discuss concerns.
He said he has seen more dialogue and listening within the community over the last year.
His take:
I’ve seen a community come together and reach out to each other in a diverse way….I think we are seeing families that live outside of Ferguson and outside of North County come in and share in the change and the healing.
I think we are seeing things move forward and in a small way, but things didn’t get this way overnight in our nation, and it’s going to take time.
Darren Seals grew up in Ferguson and has been actively involved in the protests that evolved after Brown’s death. He said he is grateful for the international attention on his community, but is frustrated that more change hasn’t happened more quickly.
He recently helped transform an old school into a gym where children can play, but he said he would like to see others take action in a more concrete way.
His take:
It hasn’t much changed. I mean there’s still an ongoing struggle every day. We’re still fighting for justice. We’re still trying to get answers. I mean hasn’t much changed due to the fact I mean something that was very positive and meant to be – you know – meant to be good, it was like, it was used and abused by so many outsiders that came in town … We got paid protesters coming here pretending to be in solidarity with us, but the whole time they’re putting money in their pocket and the community ain’t seen a dollar of that money.
Dominica Fuller is one of five black police officers on the Ferguson police force, which is made up of mostly white males. She was recently promoted from officer to sergeant and has served 17 years in law enforcement.
Fuller said she prefers not to look back at the events of last August but said she expects good things from the new interim police chief. She said the previous chief, Thomas Jackson, was a “good leader.”
Her take:
Ferguson has changed for the better. There’s things that obviously brought to light what we didn’t know or we overlooked. But I am looking forward to – as a new sergeant, anyway – I am looking forward to implementing different types of programs that are going to help us be successful – and for other departments who have issues like the past year to learn from our mistakes.
I have never seen officers smile and [say,] “Hey, good morning!” Just the camaraderie that we have now, it has brought us so much closer together.
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