Protests resume ahead of Ferguson anniversary

Several hundred demonstrators stood in silence Sunday at the spot where an unarmed black teen was shot dead by a white police officer one year ago, once again shining the spotlight on America’s troubled race relations.

The crowd observed a four-and-a-half minute silence – a minute for each hour Brown’s body was left in the street after he was killed – at 12:02 p.m., the time at which he was shot and killed. Among those marching were a dozen people carrying a giant banner reading, “Black Lives Matter”.

When protests over Brown’s death erupted in Ferguson, the indelible images depicting the law-enforcement response toward the protestors revealed the depth of the problems existing within our criminal justice system and highlighted long-standing tensions between police and communities of color.

A lot of groups had pledged disobedience in the region of St. Louis, but Brown Sr. encouraged that there should be “no drama”, and that everybody should mark his son’s death in peace, according to the Associated Press.

On Sunday, which marked one year since Brown’s death, the town was the site of quiet commemoration.

“At the end of the day, I still lost my boy”.

A federal review found that the officer, Darren Wilson, broke no laws when he shot Brown.

Yet another high-profile shooting occurred on Friday, when a Texas police officer fatally shot 19-year-old unarmed college football player Christian Taylor after he drove his vehicle through the front of a auto dealership.

Many were clad in black shirts and held black flags and signs mourning and honoring the lives of blacks who have been killed by police including Brown, 7-year-old Detroiter Aiyana Stanley-Jones, and more across the country.

Hazel Bland, 51, who lives in the Canfield Green apartment complex where Brown was killed, said she thinks about the shooting every day.

Though there was a silent march on Sunday, hundreds of protesters had demonstrations over night and marched to police headquarters where they started yelling at police officers behind barricades.

The peaceful march, led by Brown’s father, saw participants shout slogans such as “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “We do this for who?”

“Something snapped in me, seeing the memorial, seeing how Ferguson reacted inspired me to take it back to Michigan”, Simpson said.

Three protesters purchased a four-foot-long roast pig, and put a police patch around its neck and a police hat on its head, then invited Missouri State Highway Patrol’s Ronald Johnson, and Ferguson Police’s Colonel Andre Anderson, the Interim Chief of Police to partake in eating the pig.