Over the past week I was out of the country, celebrating my daughter’s wedding. Just prior to leaving St. Louis, the tragic death of Michael Brown occurred. Even on the day of my daughter’s wedding, my thoughts were drawn to the loss and tragedy beset upon the Brown family. My deepest sympathies go out to them.

For the sake of his family and the unrest this tragic event has ignited in Ferguson, I pray that the wheels of justice spin swift and true.

I don’t have all the answers, but once tensions de-escalate, and justice prevails, we must be committed to learn from it. We must look in the mirror, examine ourselves and our community for all its faults and misgivings. We must make a commitment to work towards healing the rifts that exist in race, in income inequality, in regional factionalism; and find a way forward, together.