Belleville, Ill., Aug 11, 2016 / 02:04 am
With the second anniversary of riots in Ferguson, Mo., this week, Bishop Edward Braxton of Belleville has noted the downfalls of racial division and spoke about the importance of moral leadership as the best way to combat the growing division among citizens in the United States.
"In a time of the breakdown of a sense of togetherness among people, there is an acute need for a new authenticity," Bishop Braxton, whose diocese includes East St. Louis, wrote in a July 20 column for The Belleville Messenger.
"When individuals bring the openness, understanding, humility, and compassion to their positions of leadership, the potential for establishing or re-establishing community is significantly increased," he continued.
On August 9, 2014, police officer Darren Wilson fatally shot an unarmed African-American teenager, Michael Brown, in Ferguson, a suburb of St. Louis.