In Ferguson Won’t Heal, Sarah Kendzior argues we cannot let the tremendous event of Ferguson fall into the background of our lives. According to Kendzior, St. Louis has always had racial and discrimination problems and after the event of Ferguson, these problems became more severe. She argues that the placement of celebratory cakes or lack there of can lead a person to find the civically abandoned places in St. Louis. Kendzior then ties these cakes to the governmental problems in St. Louis. She expresses the desire to move past Ferguson and have a conversation on race. This will help support the civically abandoned and will create a better community.
Throughout Ferguson Won’t Heal Kendzior uses imagery, pathos, ethos and metaphor to uncover the city’s pain and its desire to heal. This concept of healing is very metaphorical in this article and although the actual event of Ferguson may have ended, as Kendzior says, “There has been no healing, only deeper wounds. There has been no closure, only a desire to move on. St. Louis wants to move forward, but it is driving blind.” Here, Kendzior talks about healing in a metaphorical sense. The deep wounds are a lack of communication and the lack of a sense of community in St. Louis and even in America. The idea of driving blind is a metaphor for the government’s lack of initiative (being blind) to fix this ongoing problem of discrimination. Driving blind is not going to get you anywhere except in a more dangerous position than before, which is how Kendzior feels about Ferguson’s situation. By using the metaphor of driving blind, Kendzior also evokes pathos because everyone can relate to driving blind and its consequences. However, Kendzior does think that this lack of communication can be solved with a simple conversation where both parties are empathetic and really listen, she says, “It is a conversation that won’t bring “healing” quickly.” The tone of this quote is someone optimistic. Although it will take time for complete healing, Kendzior alludes to eventual healing within the community by ending the sentence with quickly.
Kendzior uses the imagery of cakes placed around St. Louis the to invoke pathos, which uncovers the article’s racist and abandoned tones. Kendzior uses these monumental cakes to invoke pathos and through the imagery of pureness and whiteness. Kendzior says, “You will find cakes in the white suburbs, parked at ice cream parlors and children’s attractions, symbolic of our family-friendly ways.” This illustrates pathos and logos through evoking a familial, emotional connotation of being safe and harmless. Furthermore, the image of ice cream and children’s attractions shows purity, which is likened with the images of destroyed, burned buildings in the article. This further proves the author’s point that Ferguson will not heal with this divide. Kendzior constantly juxtaposes innocence with corruption throughout the text. She writes, “A gap-toothed child posed in front of a police barricade, the celebratory cake behind yellow tape and metal bars.” Through her specific diction and imagery, Kendzior illustrates the brutal reality that even the cakes placed in the bad neighborhoods do not get the attention they deserve because masking them are the societal and governmental problems places like Ferguson faces. The gap-tooth child is a metaphor for innocence, while the police barricade is a metaphor for the government or lawmakers in Ferguson. Put these two metaphors together and you can see the people versus the government, which shows the opposition to one another instead of a partnership. The image of the cake behind metal bars and yellow tape is an appeal to pathos because this cake, “unique, beautiful, hand-painted by a local artist, often reflecting the landmark on which it lies.” is encaged, yet abandoned by society and government.
Kendzior uses this idea of a conversation on race to invoke pathos and imagery. By referring it as “a conversation on race”, Kendzior invokes pathos because the reader emotionally does not feel attacked with this information. A conversation is more casual however can be very important. Although race is not a casual subject, Kendzior uses imagery to invoke this casual conversation happening in the wrong places, “The conversation on race is whispered between panicked mothers on the playground”. Through imagery and diction the reader can see that people are tiptoeing around the conversation, which makes the situation worse. This emotional response to “panicked whispers” invokes the feeling of danger, which brings a bad connotation to the problems Ferguson and St. Louis have been having. The imagery of whispers also brings about the idea that people are not confortable talking about this subject in person, which is why Kendzior talks about these conversations as, “shouted by racists in the night.” The specific diction Kendzior uses to describe the way these conversations are being held shows the specific attitudes the individuals have. Whispers during the day shows a sense of insecurity while shouts during the nighttime make people feel more comfortable because they aren’t being seen. Kendzior argues that if this conversation is going to be beneficial, both the shouters and the whisperers need to be seen and heard, as well as listen to other parties.
Sarah Kendzior effectively uses metaphor and imagery to show the lack of community and government in Why Ferguson Won’t Heal. According to Kendzior, Ferguson and St. Louis has a long road ahead of them but she is optimistic that with the right conversation healing will happen throughout the city. In conclusion, Kendzior really connects with the audience and a final effort to convince them to be open and ready for this change to come.