welcome sister nkechi. all right. can hear me -- >> can't hear you! >> talk now? >> thank you so much. it is so important we have an opportunity to actually respond to what's going on in ferguson, missouri, and so many other places. it just so happens, i'm one of the few that actually grew up in st. louis, missouri. i know ferguson very well. i saw its transition from being a community that was predominantly white to one that is now 67% african-american. but i've also seen what has happened with the systems in place that is supposed to be democratic in nature. very clearly, they are not being responsive to the concerns going on there now. if you're looking to the city council, those making decisions for the people that live in ferguson, you'll see it is not representative of the 67% of african-americans that live in that township. if you look at the police department, you recognize -- we talk about 67% of the population being african-american, but out of the 53 police officers that actually work that community, only t

first sister nkechi. >> thank you very much. i just want to say for a system to be just, the public must be confident that at every stage of the process, from the initial investigation of a crime by the police officer on the beat to the prosecution and punishment of that crime by prosecutors and the judges, that individuals in like circumstances are treated alike. today our criminal justice system strays for from a that ideal. we need to look at the recommendations that the unified civil rights organizations have called for and i want to particularly point out the use of cameras, body cam cameras, on them, so we don't have to rely on individual people out there on the street with their iphones documenting. this should be part and parcel of the police department's system. i want to thank the sponsoring organizations. bus boys and poets for providing this vehicle to really excuse to the world what we think needs to happen. thank you very much. >> thank you, sister. brother ron hampton. >> yes, thank you. i'd like to thank the inst