Ferguson and the Legacy of Chicago’s Racial Compromise: A Student’s Testimony

Ferguson and the Legacy of Chicago’s Racial Compromise:

A Student’s Testimony

On Monday, August 11, 2014 I watched video footage of angry protesters, burned and looted buildings, and heavily militarized police officers. Watching the images on television, I became enraged at the violent treatment the protesters received. Images of unarmed men, women, and children being chased with assault rifles set a fire in my heart. My people were under attack. Early Wednesday morning, August 13, I rounded up a couple of friends and traveled five hours south from Hammond, Indiana to stand against racism and in solidarity with the people of Ferguson, Missouri.

When we arrived and joined the crowd, we felt the tension between protesters and St. Louis County police. The police stood in a line spread across the street. Armed with assault rifles, clubs, shields, and militarized trucks called Bearcats, the police formed a barrier that blocked protesters from marching down the street. Aggressive resistance by the crowd created an instant standoff with police. The protesters chanted “Hands Up, Don’t Shot” or “Who Shot Mike Brown, You Shot Mike Brown”. The crowd of mostly black youth confronted the police force fearlessly, almost showing disregard for the fact the police had so completely militarized themselves. Even though black youth led the struggle in Ferguson, it is very important many working class whites joined the protest. They stood in the crowd side-by-side with black youth. Their presence reminded me of the optimism of labor leaders in Chicago who chanted Black and White Unite and Fight!!!

As it got dark, the atmosphere grew very tense. We knew at any moment the cops could take the offensive. Anticipating what could happen, we told the older members of the crowd, the elders, to go inside for safety. One woman looked close to eighty years old. She responded sharply saying “Do you think we are going to leave you all to face these racists by yourselves.” That statement echoed the feeling of solidarity and strength that had taken over the day, in the face of great odds. Fifteen minutes later the police attacked throwing tear gas and shooting rubber bullets into a crowd that had elders and little children in it.

People limped out of the tear gas clouds and passed out. A few protestors experienced real difficulty breathing. Most of us just ran for our lives, fleeing the police who advanced, assault rifles drawn, arresting anyone they could. You would think it was Iraq or Gaza or some other battlefield from the Middle East watching the protesters being carried or dragged to safety.

The murder of Michael Brown was not a rare or isolated event. It did not happen in a vacuum. In the past years, the slaying of black youth has been a common occurrence. The names include Sean Bell, Aiyana Jones, Oscar Grant, Stephan Watts, Vincent Smith, Rekia Boyd, Jordan Davis and, of course, Trayvon Martin. These deaths inspired protests. The message resembled the one sent nearly a century ago when blacks defended themselves and made clear to the white working class of Chicago that oppression would not continue. Hopefully, in 2014, protesters delivered this same message to the entire American political structure.

To Be Continued.....

The decision that took place on November 24, 2014, on whether to indict Darren Wilson in the murder of Michael Brown, was a decision heard around the world. It sent shock waves from Ferguson to London to Palestine to Hong Kong. For youth of color in America, and black youth in particular, it was not a shock that Darren Wilson was not indicted for shooting an unarmed black teen. The black community believes cops seldom pay for crimes they commit on black youth. I've protested the shootings of unarmed black youth since I was in high school: Vincent Smith (Gary, Indiana), Ayiana Jones (7 years old in Detroit), Stephon Watts (Calumet City) and Rekia Boyd (Chicago). In all but one of these cases police officers were not charged. In the case of Ayiana Jones, the police officer received one year in prison.

As a young black man, I have been harassed and humiliated by police several times over the course of my 23 year old life. Each one of those experiences made me more suspicious and more cautious around police. I was not surprised by the outcome in Ferguson but rather enraged at the responses of blacks and whites who defended the murder of Mike Brown and demonized the protesters. I find it ironic how people who cheer for "rioting", "rebellion", and the oppressed raising up in fiction and movies can defend police brutality and call protesters in Ferguson "animals." Whether someone agrees or disagrees with the tactics of protesters, they should consider the pain, anger, and distrust of the government that pushed desperate people into taking matters into their own hands. Like this exhibition, the Chicago Commission on Race considered the anguish of black Chicago in 1919. It seems no one listened.

The United States was rocked by violent riots in the 1960s that resulted in legislation to address inequality. The Kerner Commission declared there were two Americas "one white, and one black"; separate and unequal. That was over fifty years ago. In 2014 we are still asking: What happened? What led to this? Why are black people so angry? The uprising in Ferguson forced the issues of race, class, and inequality back in our faces. The nation will remain on edge and uncomfortable until we get to the root of these issues and address the deeper problems. As it was in the 1960’s, quick fixes will fail. Ferguson is only the beginning. Uprisings will continue so long as black, Latino, and poor white youth remain discontented.