Missouri Rep. Bruce Franks (D), a Ferguson activist-turned-state representative, announced Friday that he is resigning his seat, saying that he “can’t heal from the trauma and survive at the epicenter any longer.”
In a lengthy Facebook post, he criticized “politicians and political insiders who keep playing this game with the peoples [sic] lives” and “leaders that look like me but perpetuate the same systemic oppression.”
“If I don’t make this move, St Louis is going to kill me,” he added ominously.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Franks originally won his seat in 2016, replacing incumbent Democrat Penny Hubbard, and won reelection in 2018. A special election will likely be required to fill the vacancy.
Read Franks’ Facebook post here:
