Seeing, hearing and experiencing the tragic event of Michael Brown's shooting and the riots that followed from Ron Johnson's eyes is exciting and sobering. After five days of protestors marching, violence, looting and vandalism following the shooting in Ferguson, Ron, captain of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, was called in to restore peace.
This memoir shows the conflicted emotions of a African American policeman caught in the middle; in the middle of an angry community of his own people and the local police. Told with in-the-moment-emotions and play-by-play actions, we see the heart and actions of a man who was overcome with responsibility, yet willing to stand for what he believed was right and what he believed would bring a different kind of resolution than sheer force and dominating authority. Ron believed he was guided by divine wisdom, even though he was filled with doubts and the results for peace did not come quickly.
The writing is fast-paced and told in the present tense. I have gained a better understanding of life for African Americans. I am awed by a man who hasn't let the pain of his own past create anger and partiality, but rather to increase his ability to see individuals in the midst of mobsters and victims. Ron's courage to make decisions that put him at odds with his officers is truly heroic.
I'm thankful Ron Johnson was on assignment in Ferguson, August 2014. He was led to listen and to identify with the protestors. He challenges all of us to change our point of view.
"See people as people...abandon labels...we have to keep reaching-until our hands are no longer empty...until we can hold on to each other."
This book was given to me from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
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