Lezley McSpadden the mother of Michael Brown has revealed that she is thinking about running for a seat on Ferguson’s City Council according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Brown was killed almost four years ago by officer Darren Wilson. The death of the 18-year-old brought national attention to the Missouri city after sparking protests over police violence against Black boys. Brown’s death marked a change in how social media contributes to civil rights in today’s society.
McSpadden made the announcement of her consideration while participating in a panel discussion at Harvard University on Monday night. The panel featured the Stranger Fruit documentary about the death of Brown by Jason Pollock.
During the discussion, Benjamin Crump, the family’s attorney, pushed McSpadden to share what she has been considering.
“What I’m contemplating is running for City Council of Ferguson,” she revealed. It is reported that her statement was met with applause and shouts of “Run, Lezley, Run” from the members of the audience. McSpadden also said she already had a community of supporters back in Missouri.”There are several people back home that are willing to help me get that going and make sure that I’m treated right.”
Crump provided his analysis of her potential run saying, “What a legacy that would be — elected to the City Council and supervising the same police department that killed Michael Brown.”
McSpadden said she was prompted to fight to change the system after her son’s death. She became pregnant with him at just sixteen years old and since his passing, she has gone back to school and earned her high school diploma.
