Media Report : Ferguson On The Ultimate Struggle Over Race, Power And Privilege

“From that point on,” after witnessing the body—and Mamie’s courage—“Mississippi began to move” (Bush 3). On July 2nd 1964, John F. Kennedy signed the civil rights act into law. Now, This was meant to be a turning point in history and the act of gunning down a black youth became a staple case of racism considering it was the case that led to the enactment of the Civil Rights Act. However, within the emergence of this new racism, “African American males between the ages of 15 and 34 comprised more than 15% of all deaths logged in 2015 by investigation into the use of deadly force by police” (Swaine 1) even though African American males only make up 2% of the population. From Emmett Till’s gunning down in 1955 to Walter Scott’s in 2015, we are witnessing history repeat itself when America can clearly see, “of course the evidence is not there, but we are still claiming skin color was not a factor” (Crump 2). The city of North Charleston, S.C., was all too willing to accept the officer’s version of events, even though the physical evidence clearly showed that the officer had landed four out of eight bullets in Scott’s

Race riots are one of the major news items we hear about via the media when a social crisis occurs. The riots in Baltimore, however, were not so much about race, but more about economic and social class separations. The riots began as a peaceful protest amongst the citizens of Baltimore over the death of one of their own, Freddie Gray. Gray was a young, African-American, from a financially lower class area of Baltimore. Unfortunately, he died while in custody of the Baltimore Police. While this is a tragic loss, he was unlawfully detained by the police (Sarlin, 2015) during this ordeal. On the surface, the riots may appear as a cut-and-dry race provoked, once they are looked into further, that is not necessarily the case.

Racial injustice against people of colour is an immense, ongoing issue that has not only targeted lives but has also taken many innocent lives. In America, these racial divisions date back to the days of slavery, where black people were denied of their basic human rights because of discrimination. In present day, some individuals view America as a post-racial environment, due to such victories as electing a black president; but the brutal, fatal and unjust events in Ferguson, Missouri prove that these divisions are still present. On August 9th, 2014, an unarmed, 18 year old black teen was shot and killed by Darren Wilson, a white police officer. The events that led to the death of Michael Brown occurred on an early morning where Mr. Wilson stopped Michael Brown and a friend after leaving a convenience store. An altercation occurred which prompted Mr. Brown to flee and officer Wilson to begin shooting. The death of Mr. Brown caused the city to stand up against police brutality through peaceful protest, looting, and even violence, to gain justice for Mr. Brown and his family. As the protests grew, the police used military tactics such as, tear gas, to “maintain order” during the unrest of the city. In recent, news the grand jury decided that Officer Darren Wilson was not responsible for the death of Michael Brown, which led to a larger public outrage not only in America, but also across the

All across the nation, in the news the black community has been making their voice heard, in regards to white police brutality, and murder against the unarmed black community. Many of these brutal attacks and flat out murders of unarmed black people haven’t been largely prosecuted, some officers have even been acquitted of any wrong doing or murder. This has led to outrage in the African American community at large. The shooting of an unarmed black teen named Michael Brown caused the racial strain in this country to break.

Despite the important racial progresss our society has made since Emmett Till’s death, from the civil rights era, to present increase of police brutality has still left the Black/African American community in shadows of segregation. The second most recent shooting of teenager Michael Brown has left citizens in ongoing battles with law enforcement officers of Ferguson, Missouri. New Statement (2014) reports, Missouri police similarly attempted to retain control of the narrative, claiming Brown had stolen cigars, and then paying for them, and then claiming he was a bad child and attacked the officer who shot him” (New Statement, 21). Brown autopsy reveals he was gun less and shot six times. Police brutality is not solely about Ferguson, Emmett Till, or the civil rights movement, but it is simply about the history of capitalism and police brutality in America and having many forms of it.

Henry Giroux’s “Hoodie Politics: Trayvon Martin and Racist Violence in Post-Racial America” is an opinion piece written by a renowned cultural critic. This writing is meant to draw attention to the way American society treats its poor minority youth. Giroux’s audience in this circumstance is the readers of the left-wing magazine, The Smirking Chimp. With most of his readers being liberal, he does not have to try hard to convince them that his argument regarding the mistreatment of poor minorities is correct.That being said, Giroux is attempting to get his audience to consider the wider societal issues that cause the unequal treatment of black and brown youth. Giroux employs the case of Trayvon Martin to showcase society’s bigger issues surrounding the institutionalized racism directed towards the “disposable” colored youth.

The shooting of sparked a nation-wide movement not only demanding justice for Mike Brown, but also protesting the racial discrimination deeply embedded in the criminal justice system as well as various institutions in the larger American society. Furthermore, jfdkjfjdakljk something about international recognition. Similar protests and riots have been springing up in other cities since 1960s, and police killings of unarmed black men happen once every 28 hours (Kahle, 2014). However, Michael Brown’s killing has led to the most sustained uprising against police violence in at least two decades, centered among the African American residents of Ferguson, and has rallied significant nationwide support as well as international attention (Kahle, 2014; Taylor, 2014). The killing of Michael Brown is by no means an isolated event, and presence of racial tensions, especially in the St. Louis area, was already present long before. The large-scale pushback that the killing of Michael Brown has set in motion, then, seems to have been the last straw, prompting the eruption of decades of pent up frustration at a racist and oppressive system. That being said, what are the previous straws that have slowly pushed the black community in Ferguson to the breaking point? What are the factors that have caused these tensions to boil over and erupt into such a large-scale upheaval? This paper will explore some of the

The heated issue of police brutality and police officers violating civil rights has extensively covered media headlines for several years. Hundreds of people are killed every year by police officers, and many of these cases bring up issues of police brutality. More often than not, it is usually a white police officer and an african american offender encounter that sparks media attention. The shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri is just one of these cases that has caused a major divide in the United States. Michael Brown was fatally shot by Officer Wilson after an unfriendly encounter in the streets. Those who believe that Officer Wilson made the right decision in shooting Michael Brown, point to the fact that the grand jury chose not to indict him. Although Darren WIlson was not charged after the shooting of unarmed Michael Brown, some people believe that his actions were unlawful and he should have received some sort of punishment for his wrongdoing. Acknowledging all of the facts of the investigation, Officer Wilson did not act properly in the circumstances of the time.

Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed on August 2014, by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, in Ferguson, Mo. Brown, an 18-year-old African-American was fatally shot and killed in the street shortly after robbing a convenience store. The disputed circumstances of the shooting of the unarmed young man sparked existing tensions in the majority-black community and law enforcements in Ferguson, Mo. The event received considerable attention in the U.S. and elsewhere, attracted protesters from outside the region, and generated a powerful debate about the relationship between law enforcement and African Americans and the police use of excessive force. The shooting prompted protests that shaken the area for weeks. The announcement of the grand jury that they decided not to indict Mr. Wilson set off another wave of protests. Many police officers have defended Wilson, pointing out that officers patrolling violent neighborhoods risk their lives, while demonstrators saw the case in terms of racism and police brutality. However, Brown’s killing and the following events in Ferguson became a national controversy touching on much larger national issues of race, justice, and police brutality. While the specifics of the Brown shooting involved is not clear, the situation would have been dramatically different had Wilson worn body camera which would have recorded the actual event. With new body camera technology

9 shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old who had scuffled with Ferguson officer Darren Wilson, came just a few weeks after Eric Garner — an unarmed black man accused of illegally selling cigarettes — died in a struggle with white New York City officers. Garner’s death was captured by an onlooker’s video. Brown’s was not, and word quickly spread that he had been shot while surrendering with his hands up — an assertion uncorroborated by state and federal investigations.

The incident involving George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin was one that caught the interest of many Americans. Trayvon Martin, a young 17-year-old African American boy, was shot and killed during a dispute between him and George Zimmerman, a 28-year-old Hispanic man. Zimmerman was the neighborhood watch coordinator for the community and he called the police after Martin was acting very suspicious by looking into people’s windows. Zimmerman claimed he acted out of self defense and he also had head injuries. This case is such a big deal because many people believe that Zimmerman only shot him because he was an African American. One aspect in society that is a prominent issue is racism or racial profiling. This case shows the controversy over racial profiling in America. This also ties into the theoretical perspective of critical race theory. Critical race theory involves inequality related to racism. The George Zimmerman and Trayvon Martin case accurately represents the issue of racial profiling in society today.

Walking around West Florissant Avenue in Ferguson, Mo., the past nighttime, seeing the moderate retreat of that evening's dispute walk, I was sharply clobbered by a racial generalization that hit me right in my social heart.

For centuries, there have been ongoing cases of racism and discrimination against blacks in America, not only in the workplace, but also in the criminal justice system, the government, housing, and countless other establishments. One cannot describe America without slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and other racially motivated movements. Race (and racism, unfortunately) is what makes America, America. For this essay, I will be exploring the question: Is there still a racial issue in America, predominantly, against blacks? Also, I will be exploring if stereotypes are related to racial profiling, if the media affects racism, and if racism is still present in the 21st century, in particularly, since President Barack Obama got elected as the United States first black president in 2008. This topic’s inspiration came about after reading Sojourner Truth’s speech “Ain’t I a Woman?” and after watching the famous, or at times, infamous Fox News program, Bill O’Riley. On this particular program, O’Riley and Martin Luther King III were discussing the situation in Ferguson, Missouri after the police officer that had shot and killed Michael Brown did not get charged with murder. O’Riley stated that blacks should ‘sit down’ and wear “Don’t Get Pregnant at 14” t-shirts in order for black relations/issues to get better. This topic is relevant because, as stated before, race and racism is what makes America and it is something that needs to be changed for us, as a country, to move forward

Imagine an 18 year-old male gets shot to death through undisclosed means. Was the death that occurred that of an adult or a kid? Some would say yes, others no. For the Michael Brown incident this was a major contributing factor on how people received the news of his death. The true dilemma with defining anything revolves around perception. In reality, not everything can be labeled in simple black and white terms, there are grey areas and discrepancies. Those distinctions remain up to debate. More importantly than an age classification, other terms must be analyzed and defined such as race, segregation, color blindness, white privilege. This paper aims to provide applicable definitions for the topic at hand and explain the issue in detail. This paper aims to answer this question. In the wake of the Michael Brown incident, will Ferguson change race relations of the better or the worse?

For decade’s race relations has been a controversial topic in America. Black Americans have been fighting for equal treatment for over fifty years. David Fitzsimmons’ compelling cartoon, “Ferguson, Don’t Shoot,” published August 2014 in the Arizona Daily Star, used a variety of persuasive techniques to voice his opinion on race relations and equal treatment of African-Americans in America today following recent criticism of President Obama and the non-violent protests in Ferguson, Missouri By using certain language, colors, and including one of the most powerful political figures, he draws the attention of the audience to an issue bigger than Ferguson.