We asked St. Louis: "What can each of us do to improve race relations?"

Brittany Packnett, Educator, Activist, Campaign ZERO co-founder: “One of the most important things we do is to remain fiercely committed to speaking the truth. I was raised with a Christian faith background and I was always taught that the truth shall set us free. We won’t ever get free if we continue to perpetuate a myth that issues of police violence and issues of racial injustice are isolated incidents. Rather they are the result of an entire system and continual decisions that place people of color and poor people on the margins and in a lot of danger. So we’re here where Mansur Ball-Bey was killed, just over a year after Mike Brown was killed, to remind us that these kinds of killings at the hands of these kinds of systems - extra-judicial killings by police officers of unarmed black people - are happening every day in this country, whether or not they were famous or a flash point case. Standing here on this sacred ground is important in that commitment to speak truth and remind us that the truth is that systems of oppression are causing death and destruction and our students to have poor schools and our families to be separated by mass incarceration and gun violence to take huge tolls on lots of different communities. This moment and this place reminds us that we won’t be free until we get real, we won’t be free until we really speak the truth, because the truth opens the doorway for us to get at the root of the problem, instead of continuing to put band aids on the symptoms.”

Kent Walker, Combat Veteran: “I feel like if we all join an organization that is multicultural, that we know is going to be full of different types of people then we’ll be able to break down some of the ideas, clichés and social stereotypes that we create… I think our culture has become very isolationist due to the internet. Everyone has their set jobs and we like to compartmentalize. We find as many different doors that we can close and make things as efficient as possible. And in some ways that creates an automatic segregation. Everyone becomes more and more like-minded, and that’s not always good. As pleasing as it is to be with like-minded individuals, we need conflict, we need to be shocked, we need to be upset occasionally.”

Don R. Johnson, Retired Businessman: “We can make sure that whoever we deal with, we look at them as an individual and not make generalizations. If you look at people as people then you get through most of the barriers that keep us apart. We have to figure out a way to live with each other and respect each other and then we can move on to solve some of the problems that each of us have. We all have the same problems and challenges.”

Ashlea B., Nursing Student: “I think one of the most important things that we can do to improve race relations is to know ourselves. This allows us to be aware of our beliefs, actions, and criticisms. We can start by stepping out of our comfort zone and doing something we wouldn’t normally do. We can surround ourselves with people that are not like us. I believe that if we want to be the change we would like to see, we have to start by being aware.”

Alex Weir, Subterranean Books Store Manager: “To maintain absolute honesty with ourselves at all times. To always examine our hearts and make sure that they’re as pure as possible… I think a lot of what’s plaguing the country now transcends policy and clickbait issues and social media. I think it’s more of a fundamental human problem, which can be magnified by policy and all the things that we know that exist that are unfair. Day to day we need to relate to each other as human beings and not as categories and power structures.”

Vicki Werner, Retired: “Not to put it in the context of race, just be who you are, be kind and treat everybody in the same way. In St. Louis we’ve had a lot of violence and crime going on, so to reverse all that would be to handle people in a way that is more joyous and not bring up so many issues.”

Diob, Taxi Driver: “Treat people the way you want to be treated. We have to respect all people. God respects everyone because He created all people the same.”

David Denhart, Retired: “I believe we have to get over a sense of entitlement. No one deserves more than someone else. We all have to work for a living. We all need to treat each other fairly and properly. Treat others the way that we want to be treated. Love your neighbor.”