Brown’s fatal shooting by white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson was one of a series of police killings over the past year that provoked an intense debate on race, justice and policing in the US.
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The memorial parade started at the epicenter of everything that happened in Ferguson over the last year; the spot where Michael Brown, Jr. died.
That reaction by a portion of the black community in Ferguson put all the blame on then-police Officer Darren Wilson, who they claimed shot Brown in cold blood for simply disobeying orders to stop walking in the middle of the street.
In the latest such incident Friday, a Texas police officer fatally shot 19-year-old unarmed college football player Christian Taylor after he drove his vehicle through the front of a auto dealership.
After the moment of silence, a service commemorating the anniversary is planned at a Ferguson church.
The protests picked up after dark Saturday as around 200 marchers, some riding atop cars, converged outside Ferguson’s police headquarters, taunting officers who watched from across the street.
Michael Brown Sr., center, takes part in a parade in honor of his…
“Just as there are those who have awakened, we will have the Rip Van Winkles of the community…”
The weekend’s events, by contrast, were largely peaceful affairs with police keeping a low profile, but protesters have been urged to carry out acts of civil disobedience after midnight on Sunday.
Organizers of Sunday’s events say their aim is to keep alive a national movement fueled by the police killing of Brown and other unarmed black men in U.S. cities including New York, Cincinnati, Baltimore and North Charleston, South Carolina. Evidence from an independent investigation team showed that the court system is profit-driven and racial bias is common among policemen.
In Ferguson, authorities have committed to hiring more minority officers.
No one said all of the lessons of a year ago had firmly taken hold, but the in the 2nd week of August 2015, it was clear Ferguson was a different place. “I think a year later, what you see is a community that’s much more engaged, wholly engaged”.
The 40-year-old Bell is optimistic, pointing to a recent concentrate on group policing, city corridor conferences, courtroom reforms and new appointments to key posts, together with a municipal decide, interim police chief and interim metropolis supervisor. By screening submissions, we provide a space where readers can share intelligent and informed commentary that enhances the quality of our news and information.
“I hurt every day”.
The death of Brown and other African-American men in encounters with police sparked months of sometimes unruly protests in Ferguson and around the US. I do not want police officers that are not community-oriented. With the heavy police presence already in the area, they were there in numbers very quickly.
Newly elected Ferguson City Councilman Wesley Bell, who is optimistic about the changes being made in Ferguson, said, “there’s a comprehensive holistic approach to solving a lot of the issues that we are confronted with today”. All three were white.
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At the march, Vernice Durgins, a 60-year-old black woman from Ferguson, said she’s seen little progress in the past year.
