Amid Ferguson Rage, Council's Lone Black Member Keeps Low Profile
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| Credit: Michael B. Thomas, AFP/Getty Images Source: www.chicagotribune.com |
In many ways Dwayne James is a beacon of hope in Ferguson, which has been torn apart by racially charged riots. The only black councilman in a predominantly black town, James is widely respected even by political opponents and talked of as a candidate for mayor.
However, he has surprised some by maintaining a public silence for two weeks as Ferguson was rocked by riots over the killing of a black teenager by a white police officer.
"Our city charter provides that our mayor is the spokesperson for the city," James told Reuters, in his first public statement since Ferguson patrol cop Darren Wilson shot Michael Brown, who was unarmed, six times on Aug. 9.
James' reticence contrasts with outside politicians and civil rights leaders who elbowed toward TV cameras. Ferguson's black residents complain that they do not have a voice in the town's power structures, and that lack of representation has contributed to the anger that has sparked rioting, they say.
"He should be out there at ground zero and making his voice much louder," said Jamilah Nasheed, a Democratic black state senator from St. Louis, who launched an online petition calling for the recusal of the prosecutor investigating Brown's killing.
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