Bridgeton and Ferguson
By Albert B. Kelly
By now, I imagine you know
well the details of Michael Brown’s murder in Ferguson, Missouri at the hands
of a local policeman. I won’t recount details here; except to say that the news
coming out of Ferguson is really just the tip of an ice burg-the point of a
spear- that continues to pierce the heart of this country even as the news
media packs up and leaves the streets of Ferguson.
I’ve been thinking about
Ferguson, Missouri, largely because it’s hard not to- the community reminds me
of Bridgeton. Ferguson has a population of 21,000; Bridgeton has a population
of 25,000. Ferguson is 7 square miles; Bridgeton is 6.2 square miles. Economically,
Ferguson is primarily a low-mod income community, so is Bridgeton. Our
demographics are also similar.
But I think the issues raised
by what happened in Ferguson go beyond race; it’s not just about the plight of
African Americans, it is really about opportunity and economics for all those
at the bottom.
Too many people, of all races
and ethnicities, live on the fringes; lacking economic opportunity and a chance
to get ahead, they live their lives on the fringes of “community”- existing in
the shadow of the American Dream.
Washington Post columnist
Eugene Robinson described the chaos in Ferguson as being born of “invisibility”.
But “invisibleness” is not just something experienced by one race; it is
something that is true for all people struggling at the bottom of the economic
and “prosperity” ladder.
The deck is stacked against
those at the bottom. It’s never just one thing, but a combination of things;
poverty, schools that don’t prepare them to join the workforce, family
dysfunction, financial illiteracy, the wealthy and powerful looking down with
contempt and suspicion.
While I loathe the violence
and chaos, are we really surprised that it’s what gets emulated in the lives of
so many young people? We shouldn’t be; with so few opportunities and positive
role models available, they have little hope that things can be better for
them, or prosperous…or even good.
I don’t know what Ferguson
Missouri intends to do about things, but I know what we can do here in our own
community. It starts with creating opportunities for all of our citizens, but especially
our young people, to be trained in the technologies and skills they will need for
today’s complicated job market.
It’s why I’ve been working
with my fellow city and county officials to nurture a partnership with
Cumberland County College that will result in the college placing a satellite
campus program in our downtown with a focus on the relevant technologies and
trainings as a way to help our citizens compete to move ahead…provided they are
willing to make that commitment and actually reach for it.
The satellite will be a
“makerspace” and if you’re not familiar with the concept; it’s a place that features
3-D printers, laser cutters, Arduino (electronics), and AutoCAD software. It
deals in robotics, programmable logic controllers (PLC’s), and everything in
between. The focus is on what educators call STEM subjects; science,
technology, engineering, and math.
We are fortunate, because Cumberland
County College is ranked among the top 30 two-year colleges in the United States
and they’re number 1 in the mid-Atlantic region; it’s partly their ability to
innovate and work outside the box to reach and educate our students that puts Cumberland
County College at the top.
I am excited by the thought
of the Robotics team sharing knowledge with those who are new to that particular
technology, just as I am excited about our young musicians sharing their
knowledge of music and recording- perhaps with the Robotics team. No matter who
comes or why, they’ll all be trained on all the equipment and who knows what
happens after that?
It will take time, but if we
want to change things in our community, then we need to be the change we want
to see. The College Makerpsace Program is a significant program with tremendous
potential; an important step on a ladder of opportunity for those willing to
try. Let’s encourage our young people take full advantage of it. And let that
be one big difference between Bridgeton, New Jersey and Ferguson, Missouri.