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In the Ferguson tempest, fury and resentment fuel protesters' fire In the Ferguson tempest, fury and resentment fuel protesters' fire
(about 20 hours later)
It was almost midnight, curfew time, and a rainstorm unleashed thunder and lightning over Ferguson, the Missouri town rocked by a week of race-fuelled violence. The ruins of a QuickTrip store, a focus for protests and now a charred, gutted carcass, blazed in the flashes then lapsed back into blackness. It was almost midnight, curfew time, and a rainstorm unleashed thunder and lightning over Ferguson, the Missouri town rocked by a week of race-fuelled violence. The ruins of a QuikTrip store, a focus for protests and now a charred, gutted carcass, blazed in the flashes then lapsed back into blackness.
Hundreds milled on Florissant Avenue, impervious to the pelting rain, and debated whether to leave, as some urged, or stay and defy the curfew. Police in riot gear observed from each end of the street, blue lights rotating on their trucks, silent.Hundreds milled on Florissant Avenue, impervious to the pelting rain, and debated whether to leave, as some urged, or stay and defy the curfew. Police in riot gear observed from each end of the street, blue lights rotating on their trucks, silent.
This was Saturday, the seventh consecutive night of protests after a police officer shot dead Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, and the St Louis suburb pulsed with a conviction that it was at the heart of something momentous.This was Saturday, the seventh consecutive night of protests after a police officer shot dead Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager, and the St Louis suburb pulsed with a conviction that it was at the heart of something momentous.
“Right here, right now!” shouted a young, bare-chested man, running from group to group. “Right here, right now!”“Right here, right now!” shouted a young, bare-chested man, running from group to group. “Right here, right now!”
For everyone here, the immediate choice was whether to scoot indoors or stay put and violate the curfew, part of a state of emergency that Missouri governor Jay Nixon, exasperated with the continuing protests and struggling to find an effective response, had declared hours earlier.For everyone here, the immediate choice was whether to scoot indoors or stay put and violate the curfew, part of a state of emergency that Missouri governor Jay Nixon, exasperated with the continuing protests and struggling to find an effective response, had declared hours earlier.
The greater dilemma, one faced by the African American community at large as well as authorities and policymakers, was how to respond to a crisis which roared out from the slumber of a Missouri summer, hurling questions about police violence, racial inequality and marginalisation.The greater dilemma, one faced by the African American community at large as well as authorities and policymakers, was how to respond to a crisis which roared out from the slumber of a Missouri summer, hurling questions about police violence, racial inequality and marginalisation.
The weather had Shakespearean timing but this was a tempest not just for the police, whose militarised response affronted worldwide opinion, or their political masters, but for local and national black leaders. All this energy: how to use it? “They left hours ago,” said Timothy Gist, 24, who studies criminology and sociology at the University of Missouri, rain dripping from his beard. “Look around, it’s a different crowd now.”The weather had Shakespearean timing but this was a tempest not just for the police, whose militarised response affronted worldwide opinion, or their political masters, but for local and national black leaders. All this energy: how to use it? “They left hours ago,” said Timothy Gist, 24, who studies criminology and sociology at the University of Missouri, rain dripping from his beard. “Look around, it’s a different crowd now.”
He was right. When a hot sun beat down earlier, activists and leaders from the New Black Panthers, the Nation of Islam and Christian groups such as Disciples of Justice had been out briefing crowds, directing traffic, distributing water and liaising with police. As curfew approached they urged people to leave, then left themselves. It was responsible advice and action, given the nightly disturbances and the prospect of arrest, but it left the field to local youths and outsiders, white and black, some of them spoiling for a fight.He was right. When a hot sun beat down earlier, activists and leaders from the New Black Panthers, the Nation of Islam and Christian groups such as Disciples of Justice had been out briefing crowds, directing traffic, distributing water and liaising with police. As curfew approached they urged people to leave, then left themselves. It was responsible advice and action, given the nightly disturbances and the prospect of arrest, but it left the field to local youths and outsiders, white and black, some of them spoiling for a fight.
There was one exception: Antonio French, an alderman of the 21st ward who has been out with protestors night after night, earning a brief stint in jail. But he has no organisational heft to shape events.There was one exception: Antonio French, an alderman of the 21st ward who has been out with protestors night after night, earning a brief stint in jail. But he has no organisational heft to shape events.
Gist, softly spoken with a wrestler’s build, said community leaders wanted to show discipline and lawfulness by respecting the curfew but many local youths had another priority. “It’s about pride. They don’t want to be punked out of their own neighbourhood.”Gist, softly spoken with a wrestler’s build, said community leaders wanted to show discipline and lawfulness by respecting the curfew but many local youths had another priority. “It’s about pride. They don’t want to be punked out of their own neighbourhood.”
Earlier that day the civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson fell foul of the generational gulf when he asked a Ferguson audience to donate generously to a church, prompting scorn. “We were, ‘What? People here are poor. And angry.’ It was the wrong way to do it,” said Jonathan Butler, 24, who is studying for a master’s in higher education.Earlier that day the civil rights campaigner Jesse Jackson fell foul of the generational gulf when he asked a Ferguson audience to donate generously to a church, prompting scorn. “We were, ‘What? People here are poor. And angry.’ It was the wrong way to do it,” said Jonathan Butler, 24, who is studying for a master’s in higher education.
Al Sharpton, another civil rights veteran, met a respectful but subdued response during his visits. “Young people know him but” – Butler sought a diplomatic expression – “it seems he may be doing it for camera time.”Al Sharpton, another civil rights veteran, met a respectful but subdued response during his visits. “Young people know him but” – Butler sought a diplomatic expression – “it seems he may be doing it for camera time.”
Confusion over Brown’s funeral – multiple groups claim to be funding it – has further dented credibility. The highly unusual decision by the Department of Justice to hold an additional autopsy, announced on Sunday and to be performed by federal medical examiners, may further delay Brown’s burial.Confusion over Brown’s funeral – multiple groups claim to be funding it – has further dented credibility. The highly unusual decision by the Department of Justice to hold an additional autopsy, announced on Sunday and to be performed by federal medical examiners, may further delay Brown’s burial.
In the absence of an obvious Prospero, many young protestors seem to think they are on their own, that they are the ones routinely harassed by police and that it is their prerogative to unleash a storm.In the absence of an obvious Prospero, many young protestors seem to think they are on their own, that they are the ones routinely harassed by police and that it is their prerogative to unleash a storm.
The looters who smashed windows and pillaged stores are a tiny minority, and many volunteers have tried to repair the damage and protect businesses, but there is tacit acknowledgment that the mayhem has unfurled longstanding grievances.The looters who smashed windows and pillaged stores are a tiny minority, and many volunteers have tried to repair the damage and protect businesses, but there is tacit acknowledgment that the mayhem has unfurled longstanding grievances.
Gist pointed at the conflict’s landmark. “Was burning the QuikTrip necessary? No. But it got attention.” On cue, a bolt of lightning illuminated wreckage which has been beamed around the world.Gist pointed at the conflict’s landmark. “Was burning the QuikTrip necessary? No. But it got attention.” On cue, a bolt of lightning illuminated wreckage which has been beamed around the world.
Butler, a fraternity buddy, drew a parallel with the 1960s: Martin Luther King’s righteousness combined with Black Panther edge. “You need both.” No one planned it, he said, but on a smaller scale Ferguson had replicated that mix of moral force and menace.Butler, a fraternity buddy, drew a parallel with the 1960s: Martin Luther King’s righteousness combined with Black Panther edge. “You need both.” No one planned it, he said, but on a smaller scale Ferguson had replicated that mix of moral force and menace.
Should authorities decide not to charge Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot Brown, there will be an explosion, Gist predicted. “People are already planning attacks. First the fire stations, to cut the lines, then the police stations.” He shrugged. Drastic times, drastic measures.Should authorities decide not to charge Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot Brown, there will be an explosion, Gist predicted. “People are already planning attacks. First the fire stations, to cut the lines, then the police stations.” He shrugged. Drastic times, drastic measures.
Such talk baffles many white people, even Ron Goff, 65, a retired mailman who lives just five minutes away amid black neighbours he considers friends. “The protests are overdone,” he said. Black motorists should not cry racism if they are fined for lacking insurance or broken tail lights, he said. The problem was poverty, not race. “Low income, high crime, that’s just the way it is.”Such talk baffles many white people, even Ron Goff, 65, a retired mailman who lives just five minutes away amid black neighbours he considers friends. “The protests are overdone,” he said. Black motorists should not cry racism if they are fined for lacking insurance or broken tail lights, he said. The problem was poverty, not race. “Low income, high crime, that’s just the way it is.”
Protestors, young and old, peaceful and rowdy, disagreed. The African American experience began in chains; centuries later inequality endures in jobs, housing, income and power. What good is a black man in the White House when in Ferguson, which is two-thirds black, five of six city councillors are white and 50 of 53 police officers are white? Median income in northern St Louis, almost entirely black, is $18,000. In the mostly white south, it’s $50,000.Protestors, young and old, peaceful and rowdy, disagreed. The African American experience began in chains; centuries later inequality endures in jobs, housing, income and power. What good is a black man in the White House when in Ferguson, which is two-thirds black, five of six city councillors are white and 50 of 53 police officers are white? Median income in northern St Louis, almost entirely black, is $18,000. In the mostly white south, it’s $50,000.
Almost every protestor interviewed by the Guardian this weekend offered personal anecdotes about police harassment and “disrespect”. Grievances expanded to include the recent police shooting of a mentally ill black man in Los Angeles, and the humiliation of a Brooklyn grandmother dragged nearly naked from her apartment, to the historical sins of lynching, segregation and Jim Crow.Almost every protestor interviewed by the Guardian this weekend offered personal anecdotes about police harassment and “disrespect”. Grievances expanded to include the recent police shooting of a mentally ill black man in Los Angeles, and the humiliation of a Brooklyn grandmother dragged nearly naked from her apartment, to the historical sins of lynching, segregation and Jim Crow.
The 9 August shooting of Michael Brown was the last straw. It was not just his death: his body was left under a baking sun, uncovered, for hours and for everyone to see. Police responded to protestors as if hunting a wartime enemy: khaki uniforms, armoured vehicles, sniper nests.The 9 August shooting of Michael Brown was the last straw. It was not just his death: his body was left under a baking sun, uncovered, for hours and for everyone to see. Police responded to protestors as if hunting a wartime enemy: khaki uniforms, armoured vehicles, sniper nests.
Stung by the outcry, Governor Nixon appointed Ron Johnson, a black highway patrol captain, to take command. His softer approach briefly calmed the situation. Then on Friday the local police in Ferguson, apparently ignoring the pleas of the Department of Justice, released video footage of Brown allegedly robbing a store, a blunder of timing and presentation which according to Nixon fuelled renewed violence. “It made emotions raw and [was] one of the reasons why … we saw folks getting upset,” he said on Sunday.Stung by the outcry, Governor Nixon appointed Ron Johnson, a black highway patrol captain, to take command. His softer approach briefly calmed the situation. Then on Friday the local police in Ferguson, apparently ignoring the pleas of the Department of Justice, released video footage of Brown allegedly robbing a store, a blunder of timing and presentation which according to Nixon fuelled renewed violence. “It made emotions raw and [was] one of the reasons why … we saw folks getting upset,” he said on Sunday.
The curfew was the governor’s attempt to curb that renewed violence. Some residents welcomed it. To the crowd still milling on Florissant Avenue at the stroke of midnight it was a provocation. “Come get me!” yelled the bare-chested man to the police lines.The curfew was the governor’s attempt to curb that renewed violence. Some residents welcomed it. To the crowd still milling on Florissant Avenue at the stroke of midnight it was a provocation. “Come get me!” yelled the bare-chested man to the police lines.
They didn’t, not at first. Instead, as the rain hardened the crowd edged towards its adversary, chanting “Hands up, don’t shoot!” and “Fuck the police!”They didn’t, not at first. Instead, as the rain hardened the crowd edged towards its adversary, chanting “Hands up, don’t shoot!” and “Fuck the police!”
Butler and Gist, the university students, had fantasised about stewards linking arms and shouting instructions, about tactics and coherence amid the law-breaking defiance. But there was no visible organisation or direction, just raw energy,Butler and Gist, the university students, had fantasised about stewards linking arms and shouting instructions, about tactics and coherence amid the law-breaking defiance. But there was no visible organisation or direction, just raw energy,
Aaron, a 28-year-old nurse with a degree in black history and a young child at home, watched approvingly from the sidelines. “This has been a couple of hundred years in the making, man,” he said. When the oppressed rose up, some chaos was OK. “Right now everyone is a leader for themselves.”Aaron, a 28-year-old nurse with a degree in black history and a young child at home, watched approvingly from the sidelines. “This has been a couple of hundred years in the making, man,” he said. When the oppressed rose up, some chaos was OK. “Right now everyone is a leader for themselves.”
Minutes later, police fired teargas and everyone started running, coughing, retching. Someone fired shots at a police car. Others broke slabs of sidewalk to hurl. Police trucks advanced, followed by uniformed phalanxes with riot shields and helmets. Resistance swiftly folded. The tally: one serious gunshot injury, seven arrests.Minutes later, police fired teargas and everyone started running, coughing, retching. Someone fired shots at a police car. Others broke slabs of sidewalk to hurl. Police trucks advanced, followed by uniformed phalanxes with riot shields and helmets. Resistance swiftly folded. The tally: one serious gunshot injury, seven arrests.
Al Sharpton was back in Ferguson on Sunday afternoon, for another rally. “They’re not going to cry alone,” he said, embracing Brown’s parents. “We have had enough.” Their son’s death would be a “defining moment” for US policing, he predicted.Al Sharpton was back in Ferguson on Sunday afternoon, for another rally. “They’re not going to cry alone,” he said, embracing Brown’s parents. “We have had enough.” Their son’s death would be a “defining moment” for US policing, he predicted.
As the skies darkened, youths assembled down the street at QuikTrick. As the skies darkened, youths assembled down the street at QuikTrip.