43
Singer’s thoughts on turmoil in hometown of Ferguson, Mo.
Before Michael McDonald was a Grammy Award-winning singer and touring artist, he was a kid growing up in Ferguson, Mo. As one can imagine, the entire Michael Brown tragedy has weighed heavy on his mind.
Here’s what McDonald, 62, has to say about what’s taking place where he used to call home:
“That’s my hometown. I grew up on those streets. I walked on those streets until I left there at 18 years old. I’m simply heartbroken that the town is in such emotional shambles, but it does represent a much larger problem in this country that needs to be addressed.
“There’s a photo circulating of a policeman and a young kid in Portland. I think the reason the photo is resonating so much with people, even people who are polarized by fear and their deep-seated mistrust that comes to the surface sometimes, is because that’s who we really are.
“To see us screaming over police lines and at each other — that’s not who we really are. That’s who we are in moments of fear and mistrust. Human beings is who we really are, and humanity at its very essence. We really are looking for each other and looking to unite with each other. Also, that’s our nature. Our lesser nature is to be afraid of each other and be fearful and let that manifest itself in all kinds of negative ways.
“It represents on a larger scale what’s been going on for a long time in this country. Unfortunately, in many cases, I think racism has kind of retreated back to the institutionalized form that we have to address and look at. We have to look at it honestly, and rather than standing on the beach and drawing a line in the sand, I think at some point all of us as people have to stick our feet out and kick that line away and start to really try to communicate where these matters are concerned because it’s happening too much. We have to kind of explore what the problem is on a larger scale.”