Ferguson, Responding to the Continuing Tragedy

The grand jury has decided to not charge the police officer who shot and killed an unarmed teen in the Ferguson suburb of St. Louis three months ago. The decision and public response reveals a great deal about our broken criminal justice system and skewed media and civic grasp of the incident. A few highlights:

Grand Jury decision: A wide range of critiques are being made of the evidence and the judicial process such as bombarding jurors with mountains of contradictory testimony without any apparent effort to help focus on useful evidence, skewing the results toward dismissing the charges.

Protests: There have been significant numbers of nonviolent protests, largely ignored by the media, in Ferguson and around the country that represent positive responses and hope. The mass media also has seemed incapable of separating nonviolent protest and random violence like looting, and incapable of going beyond that coverage to the real issues of this tragedy such as the four we raised in LPF's blog post on Ferguson, issues that beg for serious attention:

Militarization of police: that separates police from the community and protesters, undercuts legitimate “protect and serve” orientation and programs, and often makes confrontations more lethal;

Racism: such as discriminatory policies in education and jobs, police behavior and incarceration rates; the protests in Ferguson and elsewhere build on decades of marginalization of young people of color and other forms of structural racism;

Skewed budget priorities: that spend money on militarized police and the highest prison rates in the world, instead of addressing the roots of racism;

Stereotypes about nonviolence and inadequate preparation and training in effective protest, especially in a context predisposed to dismiss serious protest and merge it with random violence.

The result has been a minuscule amount of media attention on the important issues like these... attention that might help move the public discussion – and civic action – in productive directions.

It is important that we don’t allow our understandable disappointment, frustration and feelings of powerlessness to get in the way of our thoughtful positive contributions. There are many positive ways we can respond:

- Share helpful information in a thoughtful manner with friends, and in comments on web and media discussions, letters to the editor, etc. (see links in this blog).  You may be surprised at how your sensible comments can stand out!

- Participate in and encourage others to support The Week of Action, Dec. 1-5, including moments of silence, vigils, dialogues, and prayers. It is a call from groups such as Hands Up Coalition, Why We Can't Wait, Code Pink, and The Peace and Justice Studies Association.

- Look for opportunities to encourage addressing underlying issues like militarized police and racism in church adult forums, community discussions, upcoming government deliberations on budgets and priorities, etc.;

- Ferguson should serve as an inspiration for us to suggest forums and workshops on nonviolence. LPF has effective, highly-regarded leaders’ guides and other materials on nonviolence. Connect with the inspiration and resources of the Campaign Nonviolence movement of which LPF is part. (See LPF Nonviolence Resources including a Shalom discussion essay, an AV-rich Nonviolence Forum or our highly regarded Budget Priorities computer-based activity. Contact us about longer trainings.)

- In all this, it makes sense to connect with other people who share your views to support one another’s processing this tragedy and its implications, and taking useful next steps.

Blessings and Peace in this worthy effort!

      Additional links to useful material:

Links on the social and historical context surrounding the events in Ferguson assembled by Sociologists for Justice, 1,600 sociologists against police brutality and racism.

“It's not just Ferguson: how the system protects police,” by Chase Madar The Nation magazine, Nov. 24, 2014.

"Will Ferguson be a Moment or a Movement?" by Fredrick Harris, Director of the Center on African American Politics and Society at Columbia University, Washington Post, Aug. 22, 2014.

“The Church and Criminal Justice: Hearing the Cries,” ELCA Social Statement on Criminal  Justice, includes a study guide 


     a couple newer useful links:

"Ferguson Activists Meet With President Obama to Demand an End to Police Brutality Nationwide," FergusonAction website, Dec. 1, 2014

"Obama resists demands to curtail police militarisation calling instead for improved officer training," by Paul Lewis, The Guardian, 12-1-14

From Ferguson to Real Change

There has been a deluge of reporting and commentary on the killing of an unarmed black teen in the Ferguson suburb of St Louis, and on the protests that followed.  Yet the way forward has been clouded by inadequate attention to at least four important issues:

1. Militarization of Police – A growing problem, visible to activists for years, has finally broken through to the media and the public.  Police have been purchasing (and receiving free from a major Pentagon program) large quantities of military style weapons. It’s gear that looks more like a Transformers movie than legitimate police equipment. It ranges from body armor and armored personnel carriers, to sniper rifles and 2nd generation tear gas.  (What Military Gear Your Police Department Bought) 

Such gear separates police from protesters, undercuts legitimate “protect and serve” orientation and programs, and often makes confrontations more lethal. It also equips, emboldens, and legitimizes the Rambo-style officers in most police depts.  Most people are shocked to learn that “roughly 137 times a day, a SWAT team assaults a home and plunges its inhabitants and the surrounding community into terror.”  (One Nation Under SWAT.)

2. Racism – Like minority communities in scores of other cities, Ferguson protests build on the frustration of people of color who have faced decades of poor education, lack of jobs and resources, and discriminatory policies that have been the root of unrest since the 1960's. (See an activist’s view of Unresolved Race and Economic Issues, or the views of this pastor or another activist.) 

One example: Blacks are pulled over by police in far greater numbers and received larger tickets than whites, and are a key reason why US incarceration rates are the highest in the world. (See the middle section of In Ferguson or Exposing the Toolbox of Racist Repression.)

3. Budget Priorities – The huge expense of race- and class-skewed policies cited above siphon money from sorely needed programs that would address underlying problems of prejudice and inequality. The list is familiar and includes greatly expanded jobs, social service, and community-building programs.

Funding for such programs must come from reducing military spending – which like all too many police and urban spending efforts emphasizes violent, 11th hour interventions that are ultimately ineffective, instead of major (but ultimately cheaper) programs to address underlying causes…. Moreover, those problems are at the heart of the ability of radical groups to find recruits.  (See From Gaza to Ferguson or Ferguson, Gaza and Luhansk, or 90-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Arrested in St. Louis.  For clear data on spending, see tables 2 or 7 or use the full LPF Budget Priorities computer-based activity.)

4. The Essential Contribution of Nonviolence – Ferguson also exposes the still rampant illusion that nonviolent responses to conflict are nice but don’t ultimately work: “Real” problems require “real” (violent) responses.  But as Desmond Tutu put it, nonviolence is “a force more powerful” than military  – or militarized police – responses to conflict, as history repeatedly shows in both arenas.  (See LPF Nonviolence resources  from a Shalom discussion essay to an AV-rich Nonviolence Forum.)

But Ferguson also reveals inadequacies of efforts to organize and deploy nonviolence campaigns.  Activist groups have been too complacent and isolated from younger generations who lack experience with the power of nonviolent responses to conflict.  Ferguson must be a wake-up call to activist groups as well as police forces, urban planners, state and federal budget officials. (See In Ferguson, young demonstrators are finding it’s not their grandparents’ protest  and Nonviolent Protest and Accountability in Ferguson.  All this points to the importance of efforts like Campaign Nonviolence - LPF is a member - which is highlighting over 125 nonviolent actions around the US in the week following Sept. 21, the ”International Day of Prayer for Peace” – see our next blog post.  And consider participating! )

Giving up War for Peace, Worship and Nonviolent Action at Beale Air Force Base, CA

Are you "giving anything up" for Lent this year?  A group of Christian peacemakers in California took action in an Ash Wednesday civil disobedience to urge the U.S. to give up drones for peace. To turn away from war to work for peace, justice, and the healing of the earth.

In the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. 

“My body is tired but my soul is rested.”

Former LPF Board Chair, retired Lutheran pastor and former U.S. Marine Jerry Pedersen participated in the interfaith worship service and was arrested during the nonviolent direct action against drones at the gate of Beale Air Force Base. Military drones which are remotely controlled by satellite from bases in the US have repeatedly killed and injured scores of civilians abroad.

Actions of faith and conscience are good for the soul.  Rev. Sharon Delgado reports:

"We were quickly detained by Beale officers, taken to the guard station, cited, and released. When entering the station I greeted the officers with the words, 'Peace be with you.' We all treated each other respectfully and with good humor, with the understanding that they were doing their job and we were doing ours." 

"The young guards were impressed with Jerry's military card, which shows that he was part of the Honor Guard on the U.S.S. Missouri during the WWII surrender of the Japanese. As we were arrested, supporters were singing 'I'll be rested when the roll is called,' with the names of people who have worked for peace and justice through the ages. May it be so for all of us. May we find rest for our souls in the midst of the violence of our times."

You can read more about this Ash Wednesday Anti-Drone Protest and Arrest and statements of the issues here: http://sharondelgado.org/tag/beale-air-force-base/, also see KCRA’s coverage of the service here, and a video of the arrests below:



Rev. Sharon Delgado speaks:


see also these resources from LPF:
Resources about Nonviolence
Peace Resource Lists
Peace Links