Bush latest Ferguson protester with political success
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Cori Bush earned a reputation as a fierce activist on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri. Come January, she’ll almost certainly be representing the St. Louis suburb in Congress, making her the most prominent of many Ferguson protesters who have turned to politics.
On Tuesday, just days shy of the sixth anniversary of a white police officer's fatal shooting of Black 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, Bush pulled a stunning political upset by ousting 20-year Rep. William Lacy Clay in the Democratic primary. Both Bush and Clay are Black.
The district that covers St. Louis and north St. Louis County is overwhelmingly Democratic, and Bush is heavily favored in November against her little-known Republican challenger, Anthony Rogers.
The victory also comes just over two months after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis prompted massive protests and created a larger-than-ever movement toward the sort of police reform that Bush championed in Ferguson.
“It is historic that this year, of all the years, we’re sending a Black, working-class, single mother, who’s been fighting for Black lives since Ferguson, all the way to the halls of Congress,” an emotional Bush, 44, said after her victory.
Brown died on Aug. 9, 2014, when he was shot by a Ferguson police officer, Darren Wilson, following a confrontation that began when Wilson told Brown and a friend to stop walking on the street. Wilson claimed self-defense, but some witnesses claimed Brown had his hands up in surrender. Wilson was not charged and resigned in November 2014.
The shooting led to months of protests, and that unrest helped create a new generation of Black leaders in St. Louis, some of whom, like Bush have taken the next step into politics.
Bruce Franks Jr. was a protest leader who won election to the Missouri House as a...