People from across the country will converge on Ferguson for a Weekend of Resistance, October 10-13, to demand justice for Michael Brown. Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson fatally shot Brown, an unarmed black teen, two months ago.
From New York to Los Angeles, the weekend of resistance will mark a national call for non-violent action to end systemic racial police bias and violence against black and brown communities.
“This is a culture that has embedded itself in cities from coast to coast,” said Montague Simmons, Weekend of Resistance spokesman and chair of Organization for Black Struggle (OBS).
OBS, Hands Up United and Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE) will join more than 40 organizers, Simmons said. It is the youth in the community who have stepped up, drawn a line and made the demand for real change, he said.
“What we’ve seen with the Ferguson uprising is that the community can’t take anymore,” he said. “It’s up to us, at this moment, to make that real. The way we do that is by putting our bodies on the line.”
The Weekend of Resistance will shed light on a long list of local and national demands. Locally, Weekend of Resistance organizers and Brown family attorneys Anthony Gray and Benjamin Crump have called for Wilson’s immediate arrest and the appointment of a Special Prosecutor. Organizers are demanding that St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Bob McCulloch step aside. McCulloch has refused.
Organizers are also demanding the firing of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson and de-escalation of militarized policing of protestors among other demands. Nationally, although President Obama has addressed ongoing unrest in Ferguson following Brown’s death and sent Attorney General Eric Holder to Ferguson, organizers have demanded that the president personally visit Ferguson.
The Weekend of Resistance will feature a series of public events – marches, discussions and panels – to build momentum for the nationwide movement against police violence.
On Friday, the Justice Now: March on the District Attorney’s Office will be held from 3-5 p.m. at the Buzz Westfall Justice Center, 100 S. Central Ave. in Clayton. That evening, a panel discussion entitled “War at Home, War Abroad: Militarization and Surveillance” will be held from 7-9 p.m. at the Dar Aljalal Mosque, 8945 Dunn Rd. in Hazelwood.
The Justice for All: National March and Rally will be held on Saturday, October 11 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The march kicks off at the Scott Trade Center, 1401 Clark Ave. in downtown St. Louis, and will conclude with a rally at Kiener Plaza.
Also on Saturday, a Law In Action Teach-In will be held from 2:30 – 4 p.m. at Saint Louis University’s School of Law, 100 N. Tucker room 116.
On Sunday, October 12, Dr. Cornel West will keynote “Mass Meeting on Ferguson – An Interfaith Service” at Saint Louis University’s Chaifetz Arena, 1 S. Compton Ave., from 7-10 p.m. The mass meeting is being dubbed as an “Evening of Reflection and Resistance” that will feature St. Louis rapper-activist Tef Poe, poet and activist Suheir Hammad, Rabbi Susan Talve of Central Reform Congregation, Rev. Jim Wallis, Sojourners, and a broad interfaith coalition of speakers committed to justice for Michael Brown.
Also on Sunday, a music event will be held during the afternoon in the Ferguson area.
For #MoralMonday on October 13, a series of yet to be announced direct actions throughout the Ferguson and St. Louis area will take place from 10 a.m.-noon.
“This is the moment for us to actually challenge patterns of abuse against black and brown communities,” Simmons said.
For a full list of scheduled events, visit http://fergusonoctober.com/, text 90975 Hands Up United for mobile updates, or follow #FergusonOctober on Twitter.
Follow this reporter on Twitter: @BridjesONeil. E-mail this reporter: boneil@stlamerican.com.