Ferguson hits close to home for LM students

The August 9 fatal shooting of Michael Brown, aged 18, by Officer Darren Wilson of the Ferguson Police De- partment sent shockwaves through Brown’s hometown, Ferguson, Missouri, where he was killed. Brown’s body was left out in the streets for four hours after the shoot- ing, which many believe would not have happened had he been white. In an already racially divided city, the shooting of Brown, who was African-American, by Wil- son, who is a white police officer, exacerbated the rift.

Over two-thirds Ferguson’s population is African- American. Contrary to the demographics of the city, the high officials of the government of Ferguson are over- whelmingly white. According to the municipal website, Mayor James Knowles III and four of the five city coun- cil members, for whom biographical information is pro- vided, are white, as are nearly 95 percent of the police. The figures expose that the city is, at least politically, unrepresentative of the people of Ferguson. Indigna- tion over Wilson’s motives for shooting Brown and the subsequent treatment of the teenager’s corpse reached a boiling point in Ferguson’s community when protests erupted in the streets where Brown was shot. Although most demonstrations were peaceful, the violent ones precipitated further strife.

The police took further controversial action when they arrested numerous protestors, threatened journal- ists, and used tear gas on crowds. One journalist from Al Jazeera America was threatened by a police officer; “I’ll burst your head open.” Tainted by the shooting, the police of Ferguson were unable to placate the concerns of the demonstrators. Consequently, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon, on August 14, dispatched a troop of Missouri Highway Patrol Officers to the scene. As the unrest in Ferguson became more heated, Nixon ordered in the Missouri National Guard on August 18.

The violence in Ferguson sparked a nationwide de- bate over the issues of race, police brutality, and inequal- ity. All the way back in the LM community, Leslie Guy, mother of junior Adrian Corbey, felt that the events in Ferguson were “the death of the idea that we live in a post-racial society.” Corbey himself feared his confi- dence in his community’s ability to look past his race be- gin to wane. Junior Dena Behar also was shocked by the recent events in Ferguson. Alluding to protests held dur- ing the civil rights movement, she said, “The situation in Ferguson is too eerily similar to those of Birmingham and Selma, Alabama. Times haven’t changed as much as we think they have.”

As the smoke now clears in the Missouri town, the issue of race remains. Officials from the federal govern- ment, including Attorney General Eric H. Holder—who visited Ferguson to ease tensions, promised a full federal investigation; the nation, however, remains quite po- larized on Ferguson and on race. Some have called for the arrest of Officer Wilson, including the attorney for Brown’s family, while others have gone out and raised funds, nearly half a million dollars, for Wilson’s legal defense. If anything, Ferguson made things worse. The National Guard has been gone since August 22, but there is no reason to believe the divide left with it.

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