A well written piece, which is quite revealing about the state of #Ferguson and many other communities across the states (dare I say my own). Many lessons to be learned from marches such as this one. A national call out brought thousands of people to Ferguson for a march “against police killings, brutality, profiling and legal cover-ups.” The march manifested on West Florissant Avenue, where people have been resisting intensified racist terror and brutality from the cops since the murder of Michael Brown. It was organized by the Nation of Islam, the local NAACP, local politicians, Better Family Life, and various other groups. Predictably, this presented some serious issues which we’ll touch on. The march began by visiting Michael Brown’s memorial in front of Canfield Apartments, where prayers were said and speeches were made. Residents watched from their balconies, and filled stairways to take photos and video. The massive march then headed towards the police station through heavy rain that lasted about 30 minutes. Then, the people were met with an unpleasant surprise. To the knowledge of the masses, the march was supposed to go directly to the police station for a confrontation. Protestors were appalled when they were led into Forestwood park, and in dismay many chanted, “Ain’t no justice in the park!” The police had blocked the road ahead of the march after coordinating with the organizers to quell the protest. This type of coordination with the police who are responsible for the death of Michael Brown, and the brutal crack down on protestors, is quite revealing: politicians along with liberals and reactionary organizations worked with Ferguson police against the community. As the first speaker began, the masses chanted angrily, “Police station! Police station!” Keen to liberal tactics, some community members skipped the park entirely, and gradually others abandoned the park diversion by the hundreds. The issue was, they left in a disorganized fashion, which was clearly the intention of the organizers working with the police. Another problem was that hundreds of people simply headed home. We talked with many people who expressed outrage at the park diversion, who said they felt lied to and sold out. We’re not sure what the official list of speakers was, but it was reported that family members of Michael Brown, Farrakhan, and Al Sharpton were among them. Instead of streaming the speeches, we left for the police station where the resistance was forming. There were already about 100 people gathered in front of the police station when we arrived, many of whom were youth organizers who had taken the #FreedomRide with Black Lives Matter. As hundreds more poured into the protest, the rage intensified. There were only about 8 police standing in a line in front of the station in the beginning, all from various departments, and eventually we counted 40 officers. The protest was lively and shouted chants such as “If we don’t get it, shut it down!” and “Mike Brown means we got to fight back!” Two young boys walked directly up to the front of the police line and stood there with their hands up. Quickly, people walked around the front gate and squared up directly in the faces of police, who hurriedly put up a strip of caution tape to separate themselves from the protestors. At this point the intensity peaked. The cops endured hours of rage from a community that they have tear gassed, attacked, threatened, and let down. During this time, we did a short interview on our Ustream with a woman named January Ansa, which we urge you to watch. She explained why communities need to “connect the dots” and work together, and also offered insight on how people overseas can help the community of Ferguson. Overall, this was a fantastic event, that was unfortunately de-railed a bit by “leaders” who sold out the community. One can only imagine the show of resistance that would have occurred if the march was allowed to arrive at the police station in full force. This is what the system fears, and is the reason for their alliance with the cops who killed Michael Brown and so many other innocent people. The same cops who harass Ferguson residents on a daily basis, and suspend their civil rights at sundown. In our opinion, it is absolutely critical that communities begin to organize against these self serving, for profit institutions that collaborate with the system we seek to eliminate.
Posted on: Wed, 03 Sep 2014 05:29:17 +0000
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