My name is Courtney Curtis. I’m a native of Ferguson, Missouri. I’ve spent

 my whole life in this community. Now, I am fortunate enough to represent 

our community in the State Legislature.

But I’m still a young black man who has encountered problems with the 

police. Five years ago, while waiting for a college friend of mine in his 

gated community in Kansas City, I was handcuffed, had my car searched 

against my will and was almost arrested. My crime? Sitting on the back of my

 car, working on my business plan, while waiting for a friend. I filed a 

complaint. No action was ever taken.

Fast-forward five years. I was pulled over for supposedly having a broken 

tail light. After the police officer runs my ID, he comes back and says the 

tail light is back on. Must have been a short, he says. Three days later, an

 unarmed Mike Brown was killed in the street. One incident brushed under the

 rug, another goes horribly wrong.

The killing of Michael Brown made me sick. But what keeps me up at night is 

that it will happen again unless we do something. We can’t bring Michael 

Brown back – but we can make sure his death is not in vain. It is up to us 

to do something.