Southern Colorado pastor raised minutes from Ferguson, calls for constructive national conversation about race

On a day when the nation’s attention is turned to a St. Louis suburb, a Southern Colorado pastor knows Ferguson first hand.

Dr. Margaret Redmond of the First A.M.E. Church in Pueblo was raised only minutes from Ferguson. She is angered to see the looting and fires on the streets she once crossed as a kid.

“We have a problem with the law and the criminal justice system and we have to start talking about it,” Redmond said

Redmond is heartbroken for Michael Brown’s family.

“Justice is not blind,” Redmond said. “Sometimes rage is the only voice that can be heard within a community. We were patient with Trayvon Martin, we were patient with all of the others. We were even patient as Mike Brown’s body lay uncovered for four and a half hours.”

She hopes Ferguson is the springboard to what the pastor calls a constructive national dialogue about race in this country.

“What we’re seeing is people are losing hope,” Redmond said. “When one loses hope, despair just kind of follows.”