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@@@ A town that knew anger and violence found some harmony in a church parking lot Sunday night as the #HealFerguson Concert for Peace and Unity brought just that.鈥淲e鈥檝e taken a page from the civil rights movement. We鈥檝e brought people together to sing. Song is soothing and it brings calm,鈥?said the Rev. Conley Gibbs of the Ferguson Heights Church of Christ, which hosted the event.A racially mixed crowd of about 300 鈥?from Ferguson and beyond 鈥?gathered to hear music as diverse as the town 鈥?rap, rock, soul, rhythm and blues, a performance from an opera singer and players from the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.The concert was planned by Brian Owens, a St. Louis soul musician, youth pastor and ordained minister. Its purpose <a href=http://www.alportico.net/prodotti/christianlouboutin-sale.jkmsw.php>Christian Louboutin Online</a> was to 鈥渂ring people together around the gift of music,鈥?said Owens, who lives in Ferguson.The mood was laid-back on a gentle summer evening. 鈥淲e wanted to show we鈥檙e not divided 鈥?we鈥檙e all one,鈥?church member Delores Bentley-Mitchell said.Former Mayor Brian Fletcher was at a table selling $10 鈥淚 Love Ferguson鈥?T-shirts for the newly founded I Love Ferguson citizens committee. The group鈥檚 namesake yard signs have sprouted all over town.The group has sold 10,000 T-shirts, a number equaling half the population of Ferguson. 鈥淲e鈥檝e gotten orders from France, Denmark, Hong Kong. We鈥檝e gotten notes from California saying, 鈥楬appy to help, hope you heal.鈥欌€漇ome felt their town had been unfairly maligned through three weeks of international coverage of protests, looting and 鈥渕ilitarized police鈥?following the shooting death of Michael Brown, a black 18-year-old, by a white Ferguson police officer.鈥淧eople love Ferguson. The national media made us look like <a href=http://www.alportico.net/prodotti/christianlouboutin-sale.jkmsw.php>Christian Louboutin Shoes</a> a city in crisis,鈥?Fletcher said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all heartbroken. I鈥檝e been in tears.鈥滵an Duncan was part of a civic group formed in 1994 to discourage white flight and promote racial harmony in Ferguson. Despite last month鈥檚 violence, he thinks they largely succeeded through most of the town.鈥淢ost of Ferguson is successfully integrated,鈥?he said. 鈥淣ow it鈥檚 become emblematic of a city that went wrong with race. It鈥檚 not true.鈥漁wens brought the soul to the concert schedule, along with Theresa Payne and Japanese <a href=http://www.symbiose.ca/images/christianlouboutin.gwij.php>Christian Louboutin Outlet</a> soul singer Nao Yoshioka. St. Louis composer-musician Adam Maness wrote a piece for the event called 鈥淒ivides that Bind,鈥?to be played by himself and members of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.The concert was sponsored by Sterling Bank.Owens said the goal of the concert was 鈥渉ealing through engagement.鈥?That engagement, he hopes, will include 100 more volunteer 鈥渕entors鈥?for the Ferguson Youth Initiative. The program holds events for teens and offers free computers and bicycles to students who complete classes.Last month鈥檚 protests and disturbances were the reason for the concert. But Owens hopes to solve a broader problem by bringing people together鈥淭here鈥檚 too much violence in our city, period 鈥?with the cops, with the kids, black-on-black, whatever,鈥?Owens said. 鈥淚t feels like a lack of humanity sometimes and it鈥檚 sad.鈥?
