8.13.2018

In Memory of Carla Fletcher, Readings on Race Co-Founder

Carla Fletcher



Carla Fletcher, co-founder of the Ferguson Readings on Race, died on August 8, 2018.

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Carla J. Fletcher, 75, of Ferguson, Missouri, ..... was born on December 19, 1942, to Clyde and Mary Leeds in Mankato, Minnesota. Carla was a graduate of Culver Stockton College, St. Louis University School of Law, and Eden Theological Seminary. 

She was a retired pastor at Hawk Point Christian Church. During her career, she also maintained a private legal practice, sold real estate, and worked at the National Benevolent Association and the Christian Board of Education. 

Carla was a property chair at her church; a co-founder of the Readings on Race book club at the Ferguson Library; a member of the Second Baptist book club; and an apprentice gardener at EarthDance Farms. 

She was also part of a weekly ecumenical gathering of clergy members who meet to study the lectionary. 

Carla was long active in building relationships in her community. 

Most recently, she participated in both the Ferguson Human Rights Committee and the Community Mediation Service, campaigned for a property tax increase to support the Ferguson Municipal Library, and attended meetings to plan police reforms. 

Carla took part in a Ferguson oral history project and was active in the Ferguson Eco Team. 

Carla is survived by her daughter, Melissa, her sons Thom and Joel, and Thom's wife, Stefene Russell. Carla is also survived by her sisters, Sue Hensley and Jo Clifton. 


You can listen to an August 2016 interview on St. Louis Public Radio with co-members Carla Fletcher, Robyn Browning, and Carolyn Randazzo here. The panel talks about how Ferguson Readings on Race began.


Related image
Robyn Browning, Carla Fletcher, and Carolyn Randazzo in St. Louis Public Radio interview.
Photo: St. Louis Public Radio.