National

In Ferguson, the Struggle Continues

Published

10 years ago

February 13, 2015

Oakland Post

Demonstrators converge on Ferguson Police Dept. headquarters.

by J.A. Salaam
Special to the NNPA from The Final Call

FERGUSON, Mo. (FinalCall.com) – Nearly seven months since the death of 18-year-old Michael Brown Jr., the small St. Louis suburb of Ferguson still wrestles with many unanswered questions. Is the movement over? Was the protesting across the country all in vain? What’s on the horizon for the little town of approximately 22,000 residents, 67 percent of whom are Black? And do Black lives really matter?

What is apparent is emotions and tensions still run high. Recently, over 250 protesters filled a meeting at the aldermanic chamber at St. Louis City Hall to voice concerns on a proposed independent police review board called the Civilian Oversight Board for the city.

The Jan. 28 meeting came to an abrupt close when Jeff Roorda, business manager and spokesperson for the St. Louis City Police union yelled at moderator, Alderman Terry Kennedy for failing to “restore order” when protesters interrupted.

“Can we get some order in here?,” Mr. Roorda yelled at the alderman to which Mr. Kennedy responded, “First off you don’t tell me about my function.”

Mr. Roorda then rushed towards Mr. Kennedy when he encountered Cachet Currie, a Black woman, in the aisle leaving the meeting. Mr. Roorda grabbed and pushed the woman down to get her out the way resulting in a scratch on her forehead. Ms. Currie is reportedly filing charges. Mr. Roorda was observed wearing an “I am Darren Wilson” wrist band to the meeting.

The proposed board would have the authority to investigate allegations of police misconduct, research and assess police policies, operations and procedures.

It would inspect complaints against members of the police department involving excessive use of force, abuse of authority, sexual harassment and assault, discourtesy, racial profiling, or use of offensive language, including, but not limited to, slurs relating to race, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, immigrant status and disability.

St. Louis tourism is taking a blow as protesters, college students, clergy and legal activists are disrupting events in the St. Louis region. On Jan. 31 about 30 anti-racism activists walked through the St. Louis RV Vacation & Travel Show with “Face Racism” and “Are you comfortable” drawn on their faces. Some of the protesters held signs that read “White Only” and “No Coloreds.”

Pushing and pressing forward

Reports are surfacing that the federal investigation of former Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson will not result in charges he violated Michael Brown Jr.’s civil rights when he shot and killed the teen.

The Justice Department report has not been completed, and Attorney General Eric Holder will make the final decision whether to press federal civil rights charges against Mr. Wilson. But activists won’t quit pressing for change, despite the outcome in Ferguson and other cities. Community groups and individuals are still organizing and demanding accountability from political and law enforcement leadership. Many meetings and forums took place during the weekend of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.

Lesley McSpadden, mother of slain teen Michael Brown, Jr. and her family participate in King holiday march. Photos: D.L. Phillips

“The movement is not over, we are not going to settle with the way things have always been. We still have more to do and we didn’t do a good job. Because nothing has changed, we haven’t gotten any of these police officers arrested for misusing their authority; we haven’t gotten any policies changed, the system of preying on poor people are still in effect, police officers are still allowed to do what the hell they want in the community and nothing is done anything yet,” said Dauud Amun Royal, co-chair of the St. Louis-based Center of Hope and Peace.

“So for people to be slapping each other on the back and giving awards as if something meaningful has been done is an insult to the brother who got killed. That’s why we can go on T.V. and jump up and down like we’ve done since the 60s. And it means nothing because we don’t follow through,” continued Mr. Royal who was attending an event honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. There is much more work to do and “we are not finished,” he said.
Participants from across the country gathered for open dialogue with law enforcement representatives, politicians and protestors from various cities. Ferguson 1000 Jobs co-founders St. Louis businessman Dave Spence and economist and investment advisor Dr. Lance McCarthy, Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson, Ferguson Mayor James Knowles III and Paul Muhammad founder of the St. Louis Peace Keepers participated.The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Racial Justice hosted an event at Harvard Law School Jan. 17 to discuss racial profiling of Blacks and injustices in the legal system and formulate solutions.

The event was filled with moments of anger and tension toward Ferguson officials.

“I cannot quit or resign as chief in the middle of this, because I must have a chance to fix what’s wrong, that’s my responsibility and no one else can do it but me,” said Chief Jackson to The Final Call when asked about comments during the forum calling for him to resign.

The movement is far from over and diversity training is one of the keys to moving forward but it will be a challenge, Mr. Muhammad told The Final Call. “But if the police departments are willing to allow those of us who are out in the community with the people, we can become the bridge between the police and the community. This would at least start the healing process and build a level of trust between the two,” he added. Police must first engage and get involved in the community and build relationships with the people to serve and protect, said Mr. Muhammad. He also recommended police become more actively engaged in schools, community centers and get to know people on a more human level to develop trust.

On Jan. 18 Missouri Representative William Lacy Clay Jr. and members of the Congressional Black Caucus were at the Wellspring United Methodist Church in Ferguson to speak with the community.

“We need to be outraged when local law enforcement and the justice system repeatedly allow young, unarmed Black men to encounter police and then wind up dead with no consequences,” said Rep. Clay.

Dr. Leah Gunning Francis, an associate dean at the Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, insisted that society needed to regard the lives of Black men to be as important as those of White men.

We have to restore the humanity of young Black men, she said.

“We are going nowhere. We have several actions in place to take us from the selfishness thought process and bring it back to the village mindset. We are focusing on awareness, the community, education and the government. We have plans to raise the level of thinking first of the people then we can help sustain the community,” said Jeremy Rhone of the community group Mighty 13 of Ferguson.

Marchers continue anti-police misconduct marches in Ferguson, Mo.

Before the non-indictment of Mr. Wilson many groups had hopes of justice to counteract issues that run deep in the city but the unrest increased locally and nationally, said Mr. Spence. His group, Ferguson 1000 Jobs unveiled a comprehensive plan to address the issues.

“We have been convening meetings with leaders for the last four months and understand there is apathy. People are tired of hearing lip service, hence we developed our views that were delivered as such from a wide variety of leaders in the community,” said Mr. Spence.

Faith-based, corporate, community and youth leaders gave their opinions on what it would take to help get Ferguson back on track. The discussions have resulted in what’s been dubbed “Wish List for Ferguson.” It includes housing development, youth education and scholarships.

Mr. Spence believes the “Wish List” will prompt more dialogue among all St. Louis region stakeholders, leading to action.

Ferguson 1000 Jobs also aims to bring together some of the area’s largest employers to give St. Louis county residents job training, business development, and employment opportunities.

“We are moving towards the poor people’s campaign. You are not going to see us just running out in the street to get tear gassed for freedom. We have to make everyday life a protest. We’ve had demands for six months and not one of our demands were met. None of them!” said youth activist Tory Russell of Hands Up United. He criticized President Barack Obama for not coming to Ferguson like former President Bush went to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

“Here’s the same man that wanted us to vote but he couldn’t come see the people when they were hurting the most. Then the worst was that we thought there was enough to get a civil rights charge. Not just local but nationally, there was cases that were clearly violations but that didn’t matter. That hurts when you have Black officials in high positions of politics but they can’t do nothing for their people,” said Mr. Russell.

“We are begging an uncivil system for civil rights and an inhuman system for human rights and that’s not going to happen. They cannot grant you what you want. They are trying to act like this movement never existed like a 199 cities didn’t rise up.’

“In the 2016 election we will make the question does Black Lives Matter as part of the ballot and they will have to answer that question,” vowed Mr. Russell.

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Oakland Post: Week of May 14 – 20, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of May 14 – 20, 2025

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2025

Oakland Post

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High Court Opens Door to Police Accountability

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected a judicial doctrine that for years shielded law enforcement officers from civil liability in police shooting cases by allowing courts to assess force based only on the final moments before an officer pulled the trigger.

Published

2 days ago

May 15, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected a judicial doctrine that for years shielded law enforcement officers from civil liability in police shooting cases by allowing courts to assess force based only on the final moments before an officer pulled the trigger. In Barnes v. Felix, the high court struck down the Fifth Circuit’s “moment-of-threat” rule, which had been used to justify the 2016 killing of Ashtian Barnes, a Black man shot during a traffic stop outside Houston. Officer Roberto Felix fired two shots into Barnes’s moving car after stepping onto the doorsill. The lower courts determined that only the two seconds before the shooting—when Felix was holding onto the vehicle—mattered in deciding whether the use of deadly force was reasonable. The Supreme Court disagreed. Writing for the unanimous Court, Justice Elena Kagan made clear that determining whether an officer’s use of force is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment requires an analysis of the totality of the circumstances, including all events leading up to the shooting. “A court deciding a use-of-force case cannot review the totality of the circumstances if it has put on chronological blinders,” the Court ruled.

The victim’s mother, Janice Barnes, brought the case under Section 1983, alleging that Felix violated her son’s constitutional rights. The ruling sends the case back to the lower courts for reconsideration under the broader standard set by the Supreme Court. According to the Constitutional Accountability Center (CAC), the Court’s ruling solidifies that police do not have special constitutional status and should be held to the same accountability standards. “The moment-of-threat rule is entirely unsupported by the Constitution’s text and history,” said Nargis Aslami, a fellow at CAC. Chief Counsel Brianne Gorod added, “The Court took a small but important step toward greater accountability for police officers who violate the Fourth Amendment by inflicting unnecessary violence during their encounters with the public.” The ruling comes as data continue to show disproportionate police encounters and violence against Black Americans. A NAACP Criminal Justice Fact Sheet revealed that a Black person is five times more likely than a white person to be stopped without just cause. Black men are twice as likely to be stopped as Black women. Meanwhile, 65% of Black adults say they have felt targeted because of their race.

Each year, between 900 and 1,100 people are shot and killed by police in the United States. Since 2005, at least 98 non-federal law enforcement officers have been arrested for fatal on-duty shootings. Still, only 35 have been convicted—and just three have been convicted of murder with the convictions upheld. Recent data from the Prison Policy Initiative show that while white residents are most likely to initiate contact with police—for reasons like reporting crimes or seeking help—Black, Hispanic, and Asian individuals are more likely to be on the receiving end of police-initiated contact, including street stops, traffic stops, and arrests. Traffic stops, which remain the most common form of police-initiated contact, are also among the most lethal. According to Mapping Police Violence, over 100 police killings occurred during traffic stops in 2023. The Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that 62% of Black people whose most recent police contact in 2022 was initiated by officers were drivers in traffic stops. That compares to 56% to 59% among other racial groups. Black drivers were searched or arrested at a rate of 9%—more than double that of white drivers and significantly higher than Hispanic or Asian drivers. “The Supreme Court’s decision in Barnes v. Felix is crucial not only for police accountability but also for broader constitutional protections,” the North Star Law Group wrote in a post. “If the Court upholds the ‘moment of threat’ standard, it could make it even harder to hold officers accountable for excessive force. However, if it reinforces the ‘totality of circumstances’ standard or adopts a hybrid approach, it could create a fairer system that protects both civilians and responsible police officers.”

Stacy M. Brown

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Workplace Inequity Worsens for Black Women

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Meanwhile, they remain underrepresented in high-wage fields like tech, law, and executive management—even when they hold the degrees and credentials to qualify.

Published

3 days ago

May 15, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent

Black women remain the backbone of the U.S. labor force—working more, earning less, and bearing greater burdens across nearly every sector. Even as the country added 177,000 jobs in April, Black women lost 106,000 positions, the steepest decline of any group. Their unemployment rate jumped to 6.1%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But the losses go far deeper than a single month of data. Research shows Black women are not only overrepresented in low-wage industries like care, cleaning, education, and food service—they are also consistently denied advancement and paid significantly less than white male peers, even with the same credentials. In its July 2024 report, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) found Black women working full-time, year-round earned just 69.1 cents for every dollar paid to white men. That figure drops to 49.6 cents in states like Louisiana. “Black women consistently have higher labor force participation rates than other demographics of women,” officials from the National Partnership for Women and Families wrote. Yet those higher participation rates have not translated into pay equity or job security.

The earnings gap grows wider with age. For example, Black women aged 56 to 65 working full-time, year-round, earn just 59.3 cents for every dollar paid to white men in the same age group. Those in leadership roles report disproportionately high dissatisfaction with pay and access to advancement, with 90% of women of color in management saying systemic barriers hinder workplace progress. Additionally, according to a 2022 Health Affairs report, more than one in five Black women in the labor force are in health care—more than any other group. However, nearly two-thirds of them work as licensed practical nurses or aides, and 40% are in long-term care. These roles are among the lowest-paid and highest-risk in the industry, often involving grueling schedules, poor benefits, and unsafe conditions. Beyond health care, the National Employment Law Project found that more than half of Black women work in jobs where they are overrepresented, such as childcare, janitorial work, and food preparation. Meanwhile, they remain underrepresented in high-wage fields like tech, law, and executive management—even when they hold the degrees and credentials to qualify.

In Boston, Charity Wallace, a 37-year-old biotech professional, and Chassity Coston, a 35-year-old middle school principal, both say they’re leaning heavily on community and mental health strategies to cope with workplace challenges. “It’s a constant fight of belonging and really having your girlfriends or your homegirls or my mom and my sister,” Wallace told NBC News. “I complain to them every day about something that’s going on at work. So having that circle of Black women that you can really vent to is important because, again, you cannot let things like this sit. We’ve been silenced for too long.” Limited opportunities for promotion and sponsorship compound the isolation many Black women feel in their workplaces. In 2024, writer Tiffani Lambie described the “invisible struggle for Black women” at work. “The concept of ‘Black Girl Magic’ contributes to the notion that Black women are superheroes,” she wrote. “Although the intent of this movement was to empower and celebrate the uniqueness of Black women, the perception has also put Black women at greater risk of anxiety and depression—conditions that are more chronic and intense in Black women than in others.”

She warned that workplace conditions—marked by fear, lack of support, and erasure—threaten to push more Black women out of leadership and career pipelines. “If left untouched, the number of Black women in leadership and beyond will continue to decline,” Lambie wrote. “It is incumbent on everyone to account for these experiences and create an equitable and safe environment for everyone to succeed.” The Urban Institute recently spoke with a Black woman who transitioned from part-time fast food work to a full-time data entry role after completing a graduate degree. The job offered her better pay, health insurance, and stability. “It gives you a sense of focus and determination,” she said. “Now, I can build my career path.”