Power

In the Wake of Michael Brown’s Death, a Weekend of Resistance in Ferguson

Community members and activists over the next month are gathering once again to demand justice for Brown, the victims of police violence nationwide, and the subsequent police crackdown on residents in Ferguson, Missouri.

Community members and activists over the next month are gathering once again to demand justice for Brown, the victims of police violence nationwide, and the subsequent police crackdown on residents in Ferguson, Missouri. a katz / Shutterstock.com

Read more of our coverage related to recent events in Ferguson here.

When Michael Brown was gunned down in Ferguson, Missouri, by police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, residents took to the streets to protest and call for justice. Community members and activists over the next month are gathering once again to demand justice for Brown, the victims of police violence nationwide, and the subsequent police crackdown on residents in Ferguson, Missouri.

Brown’s death adds to a growing number of unarmed young Black men who have been victims of police violence, including the high-profile cases of John Crawford, Ezell Ford, Eric Garner, and Oscar Grant. In fact, young Black men are killed at a rate 21 times greater than their white peers by police, according to a new ProPublica analysis.

More than 60 days since Brown’s killing, the grand jury that was convened to hear evidence in the case has still not returned with any indictments. The wait and what is seen as inaction by the part of local officials has frustrated community members.

“If we do not get an indictment and there is no conviction, [protesters] are talking about burning our whole state down,” Angela Whitman, a Ferguson protester, told USA Today. “They are talking about a whole state that they are going to take control of and just start burning stuff down. Why do we have to go through all that? This is simply about what’s right and what’s wrong.”

The Ferguson community this month has come together to call for justice, and has been joined by a coalition of local and national progressive, civil rights, and labor organizations. Activists are calling for the arrest of officer Wilson, the appointment of a special prosecutor, and the firing of the Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson.

Tef Poe, a St. Louis-based rapper and activist, told Democracy Now! that action is part of a massive show of force by peaceful demonstrators “to stand in solidarity, to speak out against the injustices that happened with police brutality, not just with Michael Brown, but with several people, several different cases worldwide.”

From October 10-13, a coalition of organizations, including Join Hands Up United, the Organization for Black Struggle, and Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment, are organizing a weekend of resistance and have scheduled several public events, including marches and panels.

There will be a march to prosecuting attorney Bob McCulloch’s office to demand that he step aside in favor of an independent special prosecutor. Civil rights activists have raised concerns over McCulloch’s ties to the police department and accusations of bias.

Thousands of people from around the country are expected to gather in Downtown St. Louis on Saturday, calling for an end to police violence. Then on Sunday, hip-hop artists including Tef Poe, Talib Kweli, and Dead Prez will perform during a block party style concert, which will be followed by an interfaith service keynoted by Dr. Cornel West.

Protesters will follow the example of activists throughout the South who have staged Moral Monday protests by engaging in a series of civil disobedience actions across the Ferguson and St. Louis area.

The word is being spread via social media. Using the hashtags #FergusonOctober and #HandsUp, activists are raising awareness and organizing on Twitter.

Ashley Yates, of Millennial Activists United, told Democracy Now! that the actions in Ferguson are an opportunity to speak out against police violence.

“We are tired. We are tired of seeing our Black men get gunned down, we’re tired of seeing our Black women get gunned down, and particularly unarmed Black people get gunned down to an excessive extent—11 bullets, 21 bullets, 41 bullets. We are tired of it, and we know that it is not just happening in Ferguson,” Yates said.