Ferguson in Black and White (Kindle Single)

This past summer, America watched helplessly as it happened repeatedly: unarmed black men shot, choked, often killed by fearful white officers. When television cameras and reporters descended upon Ferguson, Missouri to cover protests and rioting after a police officer shot 18 year-old Michael Brown, pundits who hadn't heard of Ferguson a week earlier filled the airwaves pontificating about the root causes. But one question went unanswered: What about St. Louis’s history, economics, politics, leadership structure, and culture set it apart from the myriad other cities and towns that quietly endured similar tragedies? In this Kindle Single, urban policy professor and former Missouri State Senator Jeff Smith explores the roots of Ferguson's rage – and offers insights on how other cities can address their own simmering issues of racial and class inequality so that they can avoid the reckoning St. Louis faces.



Jeff Smith is Assistant Professor at The New School's Milano Graduate School, where he teaches and researches urban political economy, election campaigns, legislative strategy, and incarceration. His first book, Trading Places, analyzed modern party realignment; his next book explores prison life. He frequently addresses audiences on public ethics and prison reform. Jeff has written for the New York Times, the New Republic, the Atlantic, Inc., Salon, Politico, and New York Magazine, among other publications. Previously, he represented St. Louis City in the Missouri Senate.



Cover design by Adil Dara.