Ever since her son, 18-year-old Michael Brown, was killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri in August 2014, Lezley McSpadden has been a tireless advocate for justice. Now, she could be running for office.
According to a report by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, McSpadden is considering running for a seat on Ferguson’s city council.
“What I’m contemplating is running for City Council of Ferguson,” McSpadden said during a panel at Harvard University. “There are several people back home that are willing to help me get that going and make sure that I’m treated right.”
Dubbed one of the “Mothers of the Movement,” since 2014, McSpadden has criss-crossed the country calling for an end to police brutality and on law enforcement agencies to enact reforms that benefit communities of color, which are disproportionately overpoliced and killed police.
Inspired by her son, McSpadden returned to school to obtain her high school diploma, graduating in 2017 alongside her daughter, Deja Brown.
Benjamin Crump, a lawyer who has represented several families who’ve had loved ones killed by police, encouraged McSpadden’s potential foray into politics.
“What a legacy that would be,” Crump said. “Selected to the City Council and supervising the same police department that killed Michael Brown.”