10 Years Later: Remembering Ferguson and the death of Michael Brown
FERGUSON, Mo. (WISH) — When I arrived in Ferguson on Aug. 9, 2014, to report for a news station in St. Louis, the body of 18-year-old Michael Brown still lay in the street.
Brown, unarmed, was shot and killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.
His mother, Lezley McSpadden, determined to be heard, crossed police lines to speak with anyone who’d listen. She told me she learned of her son’s death when a group of girls showed her a recording of Brown being shot.
“It was some girls down here, they recorded the whole thing. They took pictures and she showed me the pictures (and) she said, ‘Ain’t this your son?’ and I just bawled even harder, just to see my son laying there lifeless,” McSpadden said.
I started recording McSpadden’s desperate pleas on my phone before my cameraman began recording.
“You took my son away from me,” McSpadden said. “You know how hard it was to keep (him) in school to graduate? You know how many black men graduate? Not many, because you bring them down to this type of level, when they feel like they don’t got nothing to live for anyway.”
Neighbors gathered in stunned silence, waiting for answers about why the unarmed teenager had been shot by Ferguson police.
As the authorities began to leave, the community joined hands to pray for Brown’s family.
In the 10 years since Brown’s death, protests have erupted across the United States, with artists like Beyonce and J. Cole honoring Brown’s memory through music.
Daryl Davis, a race relations expert and friend to Michael Brown’s father, spoke to me about the impact of Brown’s death.
He said it is possible that people with different viewpoints can get along. “Respect everyone wants to be respected everybody wants to be loved everybody wants to be heard everybody wants to be treated fairly and everybody basically wants the same thing for their family for your family.”
The Encyclopedia of Indianapolis provides insight into how this tragedy sparked nationwide protests and debate.
Jyoti Verderame, the assistant managing editor for the encyclopedia, said it’s important to note Brown’s case in Indiana.
“Even though things aren’t happening in our city we need to understand why then people are mobilizing in our city what is happening in our country and in our world that makes people want to stand up and try to make a difference.”
Alexus Hunt is the manager of the Center for Black Culture and Literature at the Central Library in Indianapolis. She points out that the unrest in Ferguson was instrumental in supporting the creation of the Center.
There is now an organization in Brown’s honor. It’s called Michael O.D. Brown We Love Our Sons and Daughters Foundation.