I was in Ferguson in August to cover Michael Brown’s funeral. In the Black community, there is a total distrust of the judicial process—and for good reason. Black folks – whether young and unemployed or upper-middle class — never believed Wilson would be indicted.
“Many Black folks here believe this is a set-up to let Wilson walk,” said one longtime St. Louis resident.
Unfortunately, the appalling decision by the Ferguson grand jury is not isolated to the St. Louis community – its judgment echoes across this nation and will likely serve as a rallying cry for racial justice in America.
Once again, we are witnessing our young Black men being gunned down on the streets of this republic with no remorse, no judicial recourse – and no punishment.
But, “they are not being killed with impunity,” McCullough said.
So how many more unarmed young black men like Michael Brown and Trayvon Martin and Jordan Davis have to die before Americans – white, Black, and Hispanic – will say ‘enough is enough?’ When will Americans demand congressional hearings to overhaul police departments who allow such blatant murders? When will grand juries begin to indict white police officers who gun down Black men?
And here’s a question for this republic: When is the last time a white police officer has been involved in the shooting death of a young white man?
Americans are sharply divided along racial lines as to whether Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson should be charged with murder in the shooting death of Michael Brown, a new CNN/ORC poll out Monday finds.
Fifty-four percent of nonwhites — including blacks, Latinos and Asians — say Wilson should be charged with murder, while just 23% of whites agree. And 38% of whites say Wilson should be charged with no crime at all, while just 15% of nonwhites hold that position.
A combined total of 32% say a Missouri grand jury should charge Wilson with murder, while 25% say he should face lesser criminal charges and 21% say he should be charged with no crime at all.
So what now? Wilson can’t possibly return to his job patrolling the streets of Ferguson where he caused so much pain and where many Black residents want to see him behind bars. But police have told reporters they “haven’t decided” whether Wilson will return to the police force.
While the grand jury was gathering evidence in the Michael Brown case, the deep racial divide between black residents and white police could not be more apparent: The U.S. Justice Department was forced to order Ferguson Police officers to stop wearing “I am Darren Wilson” bracelets in support of Wilson.
So while the Brown family continues to grieve the loss of their son, Darren Wilson, the man who killed Michael Brown, walks free. He, unlike Brown, planned for his future all along: Wilson was married just 30 days ago.
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No Justice In Ferguson: When Will It Come? was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
