Aug. 4, 2015

One Year Later, He Lives 

Michael Brown and #Black Lives Matter Movement. He was shot to death nearly a year ago.

By Frederick H. Lowe

Michael Brown

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from NorthStarNewsToday.com

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - Nearly a year ago, an unarmed Michael Brown was shot to death by Darren Wilson, a White cop, but Brown’s death hasn’t been forgotten even though Wilson has been cleared by state and federal officials of the deadly shooting, signaling the case is closed.

Brown’s death along with the deaths of other unarmed Black men at the hands of the police or people, who act like the police, gave traction to the #Black Lives Matter movement, which challenges and raises awareness about how police treat Black men and Black women in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Recently in Toronto, Canada, #Black Lives Matter protesters shut down the city’s two busiest expressways after police killed two black men.

Brown’s  death at the hands of Ferguson, Missouri, police officer Wilson, sparked days of peaceful and violent protests in the St. Louis suburb and dramatic changes in the majority White Ferguson police department that patrolled the streets of the mostly Black town.
Police rolled out heavy military equipment to scare the protesters, but the armored personnel carriers and other heavy military equipment did more to shock people that police would use military hardware against their fellow citizens. Brown, who was 18, was shot to death August 7, 2014, by Wilson when the two got into a fight after Brown ignored Wilson’s command to stop walking in the middle of the street.

Police allowed Brown’s body to lie in the street for hours and many black Ferguson residents saw it as a sign of disrespect. When his body was finally removed, some residents placed flowers and balloons at the location to honor him.

The site, however, wasn’t a memorial; it was a volcano that spewed out over White city hall and police officials. U.S. Justice Department Officials, including Attorney General Eric Holder Jr., traveled to Ferguson and talked with the city’s residents. The Justice Department also issued two comprehensive reports.

One report told how the police were nothing more than a collections’ agency, targeting Black residents for traffic tickets so the city could raise revenue. Black drivers accounted for 85 percent of traffic tickets although they comprised 67 percent of the city’s population.
The Justice Department also discussed how white city officials and police officers talked about Black Ferguson residents in the most-racist terms.

As a result, many White city officials and police officers were forced to resign, some with tears in their eyes because they couldn’t immediately find jobs. They declared and believed they weren’t racist although their comments said otherwise.
Wilson also left the police force. He is profiled in this week’s issue of The New Yorker.

Recently, Ferguson hired Andre Anderson as interim police chief, replacing Thomas Jackson, who was police chief when Brown was killed. Anderson is Black, and he wants the police department to reflect its citizens.