What many thought would just be a moment of civil unrest and protest in Ferguson, Missouri has now grown into a movement across the globe with protests as far as Japan. What is unique, yet encouraging about this movement is that it is black, white, Hispanic, gays and other minority groups working together as one, sending a robust and profound message that the issue of police brutality and excessive force is not just a minority or black problem, it is an American problem.
The number of demonstrations that have taken place in our country over the past 10 years is astounding. While those efforts received media coverage and national attention, within weeks they became the story of yesteryear. For over 120 days, however, protests have taken place every day across this country, bringing attention to police brutality and excessive force.
The movement that started in Ferguson has obviously sparked not just a moment, but also a movement across this nation. As we turn on television each night and view social media, we see demonstrations that have stemmed from a cry for justice in my hometown of Ferguson, Missouri.
Since August 9, the day Michael Brown Jr. was killed, young people were looking to the leadership of the civil rights and social justice community to step up and offer viable solutions to what appeared to be just a local issue. Now, young people have raised their own dollars to collectively plan, organize and facilitate non-violent civil disobedience trainings across the country.
Protests have grown from mere chants and signage outside of the Ferguson Police Department to highway shutdowns in New York, Atlanta, Berkeley and Oakland. Young people have grown frustrated with national leaders planning mass press conferences with microphones draped across a podium from every news organization in the nation, hijacking the momentum of the effort and not hearing the concerns of the young people who are the real victims of police brutality and excessive force.
Similar to the 1950s and ‘60s, youth have risen to the occasion to carry the mantle of leadership and plan peaceful direct actions not just in St. Louis but also across the country. Now, many of the same protest leaders in St. Louis have traveled to cities like New York to provide leadership, motivation and direction to young leaders who are searching for methods to bring attention to police brutality.
The parallel between today’s movement and the Civil Rights Movement is clear in terms of the same age group of people stepping up to lead. It’s ironic that 59 years ago, the Montgomery bus boycott began as a local struggle that turned into what can be known as the start of the Civil Rights Movement.
On December 1, 2014, dozens of walkouts were conducted by students in response to the Ferguson grand jury decision. Just days later, a New York grand jury decided to not indict the officer who killed Eric Garner with an illegal chokehold.
The movement is being led by a group of fearless leaders of all walks of life who are not waiting for national leaders to validate their approach or their strategy, a practice that my generation has learned from history books.
When groups like SNCC (Student Non Violence Coordinating Committee) led efforts in the South in 1963 during Freedom Summer, they used an approach and effort that many civil rights groups like the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference), the NAACP and the Urban League viewed as too progressive and dangerous. The heroic, less glamorous efforts of the young people is what brought national attention to the horrific Jim Crow conditions of the South.
Law enforcement experts, network contributors and even some national leaders believe that a potential root of the problem is police training. Although training is important to ensure that law enforcement officers are competent to do their jobs, there must be impartial and bona fide accountability measures put into place to ensure that tangible punishment is an option when an officer abuses his power to use lethal force.
As local law enforcement works to make a sincere effort to restore accountability with minority communities, the world must see that those who kill unarmed civilians are held accountable for their actions and face an unbiased panel or procedure to enforce an appropriate discourse.
John Gaskin III is a Ferguson native and one of the youngest members of the NAACP’s National Board of Directors. Â
