Peaceful protest mark marches in Ferguson Saturday night

The commemorations in the St Louis suburb – including a memorial service attended by the Brown family – come two days after the killing of 19-year-old Christian Taylor by a white trainee officer in Texas. Commanders allowed protesters to gather in the road and remained largely out of sight.

The riots that erupted in Ferguson spread to other US cities and energised debate on how white police in America treat blacks, especially young black men, particularly when it comes to the use of lethal force.

The deadly capturing of Brown by former officer Darren Wilson sparked typically violent clashes between protesters and police, unfolding earlier than the nation on stay tv.

On the eve of the anniversary of Michael Brown being shot and killed during a confrontation with a police officer, Brown’s father said Saturday that the family still mourns the 18-year-old’s death.

Several weekend events are planned to commemorate the first anniversary of Brown’s death. Before the five mile parade started, Brown’s father took some stuffed animals and placed them where he died.

The US town of Ferguson is marking the first anniversary of the killing of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown.

Michael Brown Sr., whose 18-year-old son and namesake was fatally shot by a Ferguson police officer last August. 9, was near the head of the procession. “I’m still hurting. My family’s still hurting”.

“It is not going to happen overnight, it is not going to happen in just a year”.

“Murders haven’t stopped. We’re more together as a people but we’re still dying”, Pattman said.

“This weekend Ferguson will mark the date with marches, protests and concerts,” said MSNBC’s Al Sharpton.

MAY 20, 2015 – The makeshift mid-street memorial that marked where Brown fell dead is cleared out on would have been his 19th birthday, giving way to a permanent plaque installed nearby in his memory.

Brown and his closest supporters wore t-shirts bearing a print of a widely circulated photograph of his son wearing high school graduation robes.

Marches were planned later Saturday in St. Louis and on Sunday, again starting on Canfield Drive.

Over the past year Brown Sr. has started a charity called Chosen for Change and become a household name.

The and, who resigned in November, of wrongdoing. A year ago Nabeehah Azeez was a probation office in the city, she is now a community organiser for MORE, Missourians Organising for Reform and Empowerment. “No stupidity, so we can just have some kind of peace”. He places the Ferguson Police Department in charge of security in Ferguson, with orders to work as a unified command with St. Louis city police and the Missouri Highway Patrol.

In Ferguson, Mo. residents are hopeful for the future, as the town of about 21,000 looks at changes both big and small a year after the death of Michael Brown.