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FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — The Latest on the opening of a new job training and education center in Ferguson nearly three years after the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown (all times local):
3:50 p.m.
The new Ferguson Community Empowerment Center is now open for its first day, and it's already paid for.
Several hundred people turned out Wednesday for a ceremony marking the opening of the $3 million center that will house offices for the Urban League, Salvation Army and other services. It was built at the site where a QuikTrip store was burned during rioting in August 2014 after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown, a black, unarmed 18-year-old, by white Ferguson officer Darren Wilson.
Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing and later resigned, but the shooting led to scrutiny that revealed racial bias in Ferguson's criminal justice system.
National Urban League President Marc Morial calls the new center a "powerful first step" in helping the St. Louis suburb that's still mending from unrest over Brown's death. The center was built with donations from several businesses and organizations, including $1.4 million from the Salvation Army.
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11:50 a.m.
The National Urban League's president is calling the opening of the Ferguson Community Empowerment Center a "powerful first step" in rebuilding the community torn apart by Michael Brown's death.
Marc Morial spoke Wednesday at the opening of the $3 million center. It will include job training and placement, offices for the Salvation Army and other services.
The center was built on the site where a QuikTrip burned in August 2014, the night after Brown, an unarmed black 18-year-old, was fatally shot by white officer Darren Wilson.
Wilson was cleared of wrongdoing, but the shooting led to scrutiny that revealed racial bias in Ferguson's criminal justice system.
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This update has been corrected to show that the National Urban League president's last name is Morial, not Miriam.
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12:30 a.m.
The president of the National Urban League says he's seen "steps in the right direction" in Ferguson, Missouri, in the three years since Michael Brown's death, and he's hopeful the new Ferguson Community Empowerment Center will help even more.
The $3 million center was built on property where a QuikTrip convenience store was burned during rioting after the 18-year-old Brown, who was black and unarmed, was killed by a white police officer on Aug. 9, 2014. The center that will house a job training and placement service opens Wednesday — the same day the Urban League starts its national conference in St. Louis.
National Urban League President Marc Morial says the events in Ferguson after Brown's death highlighted challenges many communities face, including poverty and disparities in education and health.
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This update has been corrected to show that the National Urban League president's first name is Marc, not Michael.
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