FERGUSON, Mo. – Antonio French sat in the front passenger seat of an air-conditioned sedan parked behind vandalized and boarded-up Red’s BBQ on West Florissant Avenue, scrolling through his iPhone, reading a barrage of tweets, emails and text messages.
Nods of appreciation and media interview requests have kept his phone vibrating these last few weeks.
“It’s been like a blur,” said French, in a respite from the muggy afternoon air. “We’ve been out here every day trying to maintain some focus.”
It’s a new reality for the St. Louis native and alderman.
In the two weeks since a white police officer shot and killed Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man, French has become a pinnacle figure in what’s evolved into a national call for justice.