I have intentionally not posted anything about Ferguson, Michael Brown, or Darren Wilson. I believe that there is no shortage of information (from whatever perspective) on Facebook and all over the media. But being in St. Louis at this time is particularly troubling for me. We are preparing for the “unrest” expected when the Grand Jury delivers a decision on whether or not to indict Darren Wilson. The preparations include the Governor of Missouri declaring a state of emergency in preparation for whatever will happen. I guess he, and everyone else, already knows what the decision will be. Even on the campus of Washington University in St. Louis, where we have some employees who work at our campus located in very close proximity to the courthouse where the Grand Jury deliberates, we have been preparing for the decision by bolting outdoor furniture in place, and ensuring that we are prepared to “manage staff during times of unrest” (there we go with that word, “unrest” again). An email message from our Vice Chancellor for Human Resources on November 17, reads, in part:
“As you learned from the Chancellor earlier today, the University is prepared to respond in the event of unrest within our community during the weeks ahead. The Office of Human Resources wants to ensure that managers are empowered to lead and support their employees during a time when their work environment may be impacted.”
We’ve set up a website with information about the campus preparation: http://voices.wustl.edu/grand-jury-announcement/.
I was never a Boy Scout, but I certainly believe in being prepared. But what does the level of preparation we’re taking here in the city - in the state, and even across the country - say to you? To me these preparations mean that Darren Wilson will not be indicted for the murder of Michael Brown, and that there is a belief that the city will then be overrun by black people out to wreak havoc on the city, and perhaps more importantly, on the white people. I wasn’t sure how to react to a recent story about a woman who, in her attempt to be prepared for the “unrest,” allegedly shot herself (or, so says her boyfriend - http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/23/us/ferguson-woman-kills-herself/index.html). Local businesses in St. Louis are boarding up their windows and I’m sure companies like American Board Up (http://www.americanboardupstlouis.com/board-up-service) are quite profitable these days. If, in fact, Darren Wilson is indicted (a possibility for which no-one seems prepared) are we expecting that the white people will cause the unrest for which we are preparing? Or perhaps the black people, not understanding what the indictment means, will still riot!
The Ferguson Police Chief has already stated that if there is no indictment, Darren Wilson will be back on the job at the Ferguson Police Department. Sure, he (the Police Chief) has tried to backtrack on that statement now, but why would Darren Wilson not be back on the force if he has been cleared of any wrongdoing - or at least of not having sufficient evidence to support a claim of any wrongdoing? Darren Wilson is allegedly negotiating his resignation, however (http://www.salon.com/2014/11/21/ferguson_officer_darren_wilson_is_negotiating_his_resignation/)
The topic of “Ferguson” or “unrest” or “Michael Brown” or simply, “the Grand Jury” are now all synonymous with Saint Louis. And there is no shortage of opinion about any topic related to the August 9th shooting and subsequent events. Unrelated cases are being compared (or not) to “Ferguson.” For example, a 12-year old boy in Cleveland was shot by police and we are not to draw any comparisons to Ferguson (http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/23/justice/cleveland-police-shooting/index.html). A man in a stairwell of his apartment building was shot by a police officer in Brooklyn, NY, but we are not to compare that to Ferguson (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/22/nyregion/new-york-police-officer-fatally-shoots-brooklyn-man.html). And these are just two of the stories from this week (week of November 17, 2014) where police officers - white police officers - have shot black men.
Why did I decide now to “break my silence” and write about “Ferguson?” Rudolph Giuliani! He, in an interview, said we need to stop focusing on the white cops that are killing black people or the fact that white police are found more often than not in predominantly black neighborhoods, and instead should focus on the black people who are killing other black people (http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/rudy-giuliani-former-mayor-black-violence-reason-white-cops-ferguson). No-one will deny that black-on-black crime exists and needs to stop. However, that he would think the conversations about Ferguson are about black-on black crime is simply reprehensible. We can say the circumstances are different, but the Brooklyn and Cleveland examples cited above are about white law enforcement officers killing black men. We also read this week about a Kentucky Fire Chief who refused to assist a black family involved in an accident (http://www.salon.com/2014/11/20/kentucky_fire_chief_refuses_to_help_black_family_after_traffic_accident_we_aint_taking_no_n_gers_here/). So I ask you, Rudolph Giuliani, why I - as a black man - should not be concerned about the treatment of black people by people in positions that we should trust? Why should I not feel as though I need to walk down the street with my hands up (not that doing so will necessarily prevent me from being shot anyway)? Why should I not feel terrified of the people whose job it is to “serve and protect?” The messages I am getting from the preparations here in St. Louis certainly don’t instill any confidence that I should do or feel otherwise.
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