Losing a Local Hero
On September 6th, St. Louis lost an influential figure. Just short of 10 miles away from the Wash U campus, the body of activist Darren Seals was found inside a burning car with a fatal gunshot wound. Seals, often referred to as a “day-one” Ferguson protester, was known as a central figure within the local community of anti-police brutality activists. Seals himself remarked to reporters that he had arrived at the scene of Michael Brown’s fatal shooting just 45 minutes after the incident had occurred. Soon after, he emerged as a prominent leader of the protests in Ferguson that would later capture the nation.
As an outspoken anti-violence activist and a co-founder of Hands Up United, an anti-police brutality group, Seals functioned as a powerful organizer within the St. Louis community. Whether it was planning an economic boycott to highlight police violence or voting for Republicans exclusively to show dissatisfaction with the Democratic leaders of Ferguson, Seals excelled in his role as a main strategist. Seals was responsible for behind-the-scenes work with the protests in Ferguson, but also for setting the tone for the protests themselves. For example, fellow activist Tory Russell recalls a conversation between Seals and a group of young men who were tear gassed at a protest. The men wanted to attack the police in response, but Seals urged the young men to resist the police without the use of physical violence. Members of the community remember countless instances in which Seals shaped the direction of the protests. Alexis Templeton, a Ferguson activist, recalled her impression of Seals to the Washington Post: “He represented the authenticity of Ferguson: that rawness, that realness, that readiness.” As a credible and influential leader within the community, Seals created a commitment to powerful but peaceful resistance in Ferguson. By setting the tone for protests in Ferguson, Seals indirectly set the tone for anti-police brutality protests around the world. Much of Seals’ work is present in demonstrations even today, because Ferguson still functions as a model for anti-police brutality protests.
Although Seals was a powerful leader within the St. Louis community, he attracted his fair share of controversy. He criticized notable national activists and #BlackLivesMatter organizations for co-opting the coordination and the spirit of the protests in Ferguson. According to Seals, many out-of-town activists came to Ferguson not for real work, but for reputation and profit. Keith Rose, a prominent activist in St. Louis told the Guardian of Seals’ loyalty to his hometown, “He didn’t go out to the national level like many of the organizers. He stayed home and tried to fix Ferguson first.” Claiming that the national #BlackLivesMatter movement was shifting away from serving working-class black people, Seals firmly believed that the most impactful activism was executed at the local level.
His untimely death shocked the St. Louis community, but also raised some questions. Police are investigating his death as a homicide, but some members of the community claim that there was police involvement in his death. In the months preceding his death, Seals claimed that police were often harassing him. Heather de Mian, a prominent activist known for live-streaming St. Louis demonstrations, remarked that police left behind vehicle debris and shell casings at the scene of the crime. “The memorial is constructed on top of his car door, which the police just left there. You would think the car door would be important evidence, that there might be fingerprints, you know. The police just left it there,” she remarked in one of her videos. Members of the community have expressed the sentiment that police have treated the crime with carelessness. On September 11th, armed protestors linked with the Revolutionary Black Panther Party took to the streets of the Central West End to not only raise awareness and express grief over the death of Darren Seals, but also to demand answers for the questions surrounding his death. Later that night, protestors unaffiliated with the earlier group made their presence known in the Loop, entering establishments such as Seoul Taco and Salt + Smoke. Many in St. Louis feel that the circumstances surrounding the death of Darren Seals lack transparency.
Seals often discussed his dream of creating a youth center run by those who were formerly incarcerated or with street backgrounds. The center would offer programs such as job training, practical money management, and voter registration. Seals’ life was brutally cut short before he could build what he imagined, but his friends have begun to raise money to make the Darren Seals Youth Center a reality. Darren Seals focused on his local community first and foremost, which can teach Wash U students the importance of investing in our immediate surroundings. Before thinking nationally or globally, Darren Seals asks us to improve what’s in front of us first. His death being so close to home can help spark dialogue about what it means to defend controversial values and beliefs. Although our city has lost a hero, a friend, and a changemaker, the passion and commitment Seals felt for St. Louis is impossible to erase.