The civil unrest in Ferguson Missouri has been well documented by the media both local and national. It has created problems for local and state authorities who have had to respond with increased manpower (police presence) for a lengthy period of time.
It is hard to imagine that unruly crowds who were protesting the shooting of Michael Brown were only causing problems on a three or four block area of Ferguson. Although they did then move on to the area surrounding the Police headquarters and city hall.
But the unintended consequence of their protests has had a major effect on the businesses of Ferguson, especially those in the area of the main peaceful (yet sometimes violent) marches. The local news media has reported on this in short little pieces, but the national news media ignores it while still sensationalizing the issues.
Businesses in Ferguson report almost a 20% drop in business. Some on West Florissant report as much as 70% drop in business. Several local beauty parlor's, barber shops and clothing stores report that their customers have called and cancelled appointments because they are afraid to come into the area, based upon the reports they have seen in the news.
What is truly frustrating for these business owners is that during the day when most of their customers would come there has been no real danger and very little in the way of protests. I have personally walked the streets there in helping clean up and in meeting store owners and have never felt in danger during the day. I will admit that I have not gone back after dark because of what can happen.
But even now the protests are very minimal on most days, there are only a few times when they grow in numbers.
But the long range problem for Ferguson is this, 30% of the small business owners might not survive the next month because of the downturn of business. Add to that the fact that the economy is tough anyway and it just compounds the problem.
Many businesses depend on the holiday season to provide major income for their business. If this situation continues they will not have that income and the number of closures could mount even higher.
This is not even considering the dollar amount of damages. Quik Trip has already had a 5.5 million dollar loss of a building and it's contents. Add on the loss of revenue and it is growing. Then add on to that the loss of jobs for the twenty plus employees, who live in Ferguson, and you have a truly outrageous problem that was untended by the local community protestors.
Yes we need to get resolution to this situation. Yes there needs to be "Justice" for Michael Brown and all involved, including the police officer. Yes, we need to have a stop to these situations.
So, my question today is this, does the Rev. Al Sharpton really care about the people of Ferguson, or is he just riding the political coat tails of the situation. If he cared about the people he would be advocating for peace and asking the people to support the businesses of Ferguson.
Stop and consider what you can do.
Our church is going to walk the streets of Ferguson today for a prayer walk. We are going to pray for the business owners, the homeowners and the entire situation. Join us in prayer. But also if you live in the area join in coming back into the area to do business and help the local store owners.
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