On the Ground in Ferguson: Positivity Among the Chaos

Another side of the story.

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Complex Original

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THEY WERE THE PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T MAKE THE NEWS. When protests and demonstrations popped up in Ferguson, Missouri this month, the civilians involved were mostly met with a fully militarized response by local police, which was mostly portrayed as a nearly apocalyptic, anarchic standoff in the media.

But there were plenty of others, people who were a part of what happened in that small St. Louis suburb who didn't necessarily make for the most "exciting" television news, but were an important, undeserved set of players in this story no less. From volunteers cleaning up after the previous night's chaos, to organized peace rallies, to people coexisting with uniformed (and not riot-gear ready) police, the story of Ferguson was clearly more than just anger and frustration. Even J. Cole got in on the act when he flew into town, mixing it up with the locals and hoping—like everyone else—for the end to the violence, and a start to some healing. 

And so: The Complex News team on the ground in Ferguson found among all the chaos a community of people trying to work towards less confrontational ends. And here's the thing: They weren't even that hard to find. These are their stories.

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