By Devan
In August, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson, MO. The story made national news. Security footage shows Brown, minutes before the shooting, shoplifting from a convenience store and engaging in a struggle with the store manager. Witnesses attest that when police arrived, Brown and the officer had a physical conflict after which the officer shot brown multiple times. With his hands up, brown was finally shot fatally and fell to the ground. In the weeks following, riots erupted in Ferguson, stemming from originally peaceful protest. Legal investigation of the event is still underway. As we have seen with the death of Michael Brown, we continue witnessing this devastating pattern of events in our country, – innocent, black civilians being violently assaulted or killed by a white police force, the community erupting with anger and passion, and often no proper justice is served to the officer.
– Why do you think in this country racism is so deeply associated with the police force?
– Do you think the officer in Ferguson was committing a blatant act of racism or rightfully defending himself and his safety?
– It seems to be the perspective of many people in this country that race is overly discussed and argued, and that the topic of racial inequality should simply be dropped because it’s in our past. What would you say to these people, what would your reaction be?
– If you lived in Ferguson, MO would you feel a need to be a part of the protests and riots and why?
– Do you think the uprisings in Ferguson were necessary and effective or rather harmful or detrimental to the situation and why?