{"id":22,"date":"2023-11-21T19:16:55","date_gmt":"2023-11-22T01:16:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/?page_id=22"},"modified":"2026-03-22T14:35:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T19:35:13","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/index.php\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\"><strong>Our Beginnings<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-medium-font-size\">In the Fall of 1994, the Oak Park Exchange Congress was held at Florissant Valley Community College in Ferguson. The Oak Park Exchange was a national conference that provided a forum for the free exchange of ideas and experiences in achieving and enhancing racial harmony and economic growth in communities.<br><br>From the Congress, local attendees of that event created an organized effort call PROUD to embrace our diversity, not only in racial and ethnic terms, but also in terms of age, religion, and interest.<br><br>For seventeen years, PROUD served the city of Ferguson with the establishment of the Ferguson Residential Resource Center, the establishment of the Equity Home Assurance Program, city beautification projects, and art and social events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"472\" src=\"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Juneteenth-2023-06-21-1024x472.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-64\" srcset=\"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Juneteenth-2023-06-21-1024x472.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Juneteenth-2023-06-21-300x138.jpg 300w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Juneteenth-2023-06-21-768x354.jpg 768w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Juneteenth-2023-06-21-1536x708.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Juneteenth-2023-06-21-2048x943.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Juneteenth-2023-06-21-1200x553.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/Juneteenth-2023-06-21-1980x912.jpg 1980w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-large-font-size\"><strong>Our Rebirth<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image9-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image9-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image9-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image9-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image9-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image9-600x450.jpeg 600w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/image9-rotated.jpeg 2016w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p>PROUD has been reestablished to continue the mission started so many years before, with a new emphasis on healing the fractures that led up to and resulted from the 2014 Ferguson Unrest.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:62px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading has-text-align-center\">Executive Committee<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\">Jeff Finnegan, Vice Chair<br>Dr. Jackie Lewis-Harris, Vice Chair<br>Lindsay LaMarche, Secretary<br>Gerry Noll, Treasurer<br><br>Chuck Henson, Past Chair<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0\">Alan Mueller,  Past Chair<br>Dr. Cassandra Butler, Past Chair<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">Peggy Foege<br>Tim Larson<br>Laverne Mitchom<br>Nancy Remmert<br><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"678\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DSC_0298-678x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54\" srcset=\"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DSC_0298-678x1024.jpg 678w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DSC_0298-199x300.jpg 199w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DSC_0298-768x1160.jpg 768w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DSC_0298-1017x1536.jpg 1017w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DSC_0298-1356x2048.jpg 1356w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DSC_0298-1200x1812.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DSC_0298-1980x2989.jpg 1980w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/11\/DSC_0298-scaled.jpg 1696w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1705\" src=\"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20241018_193045-edited-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1106\" srcset=\"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20241018_193045-edited-scaled.jpg 2560w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20241018_193045-edited-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20241018_193045-edited-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20241018_193045-edited-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20241018_193045-edited-1536x1023.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20241018_193045-edited-2048x1364.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/20241018_193045-edited-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-100\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/index.php\/candidate-forum-format\/\">PROUD&#8217;s Conversational Agreements<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our Beginnings In the Fall of 1994, the Oak Park Exchange Congress was held at Florissant Valley Community College in Ferguson. The Oak Park Exchange was a national conference that provided a forum for the free exchange of ideas and experiences in achieving and enhancing racial harmony and economic growth in communities. From the Congress, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1251,"href":"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22\/revisions\/1251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/proud-ferguson.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}