Ferguson October In Full Swing as Thousands March for Justice by Kenya Vaughn

Oct. 12, 2014

Ferguson October In Full Swing as Thousands March for Justice
By Kenya Vaughn

fergusonoctober

Thousands marched in Saturday's "Justice for all March" down Market Street to Kiener Plaza. The event was part of the #FergusonOctober event. The march started at 15th and Market and ended with a rally at Kiener PHOTO: Wiley Price/St. Louis American

Special to the Trice Edney News Wire from The St. Louis American

(TriceEdneyWire.com) - “People have been saying that this generation is dead and useless – and that they weren’t about anything. But I never gave up on them,” said legendary St. Louis activist Percy Green. “Certain things come along and the trigger one’s consciousness – and this is what we get.”

Even though he was far from in the forefront as more than 3,000 marched down Market Saturday morning as part of what is now known as Ferguson October, Green was hard to miss.

As the sea of people marched down towards Kiener Plaza, he gleamed like a proud father on more than one occasion – nodding with approval as they chanted and showcasing a permanent grin.

“I knew that it was just a matter of time before something like this would occur, because history has dictated that for us,” Green said. “It’s just like we know rain comes from a cloud – it doesn’t come from a clear blue sky – but every cloud doesn’t bring rain. Sooner or later the clouds will bring rain…and this is the rain.”

The seeds he planted a generation before as an activist sprout through the young people that continue to take to the streets in the wake of the death of Michael Brown’s death on August 9.

On this day all walks of life – including the AFL-CIO, the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU), affiliate unions and constituency groups – joined them for the "Justice For All" march.

“We think that it’s a beautiful thing for all of us to come together to fight for justice for Michael Brown – but also for economic justice,” said Lew Moye, president of CBTU’s St. Louis chapter. “One of the main problems that we have in Ferguson and in other parts of North County is the lack of jobs. And this incident has shined a light on that. And the other thing that we have out there is the lack of blacks in government and that shined a light on that as well.”

Like Green, Moye was in the shadows watching as a proud elder who laid the foundation for what he saw the young people leading a movement for justice in the name of those who had become casualties of what many referred to as “police terror.”

“The more we get out here in the streets and demonstrate and put a focus on it, the more we will be able to do to turn this situation around,” Moye said.
They were two of dozens of civic leaders and activists who respectfully let the young people have their moment in the forefront of a movement started as a small relentless few in the streets of Canfield Green Apartments.

Many were out the night before both in Ferguson and in South City. They relied on the familiar chants as they made their way down the march route.

“Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” and “This is what democracy looks like,” “Hey hey, ho ho these killer cops have got to go” were among the most popular, as was the call and response“What do we want…Justice,” When do we want it…Now.”

Their voices were strained and hoarse by the time they approached the podium for the rally that followed the march. But the energy and fervency were unscathed.

“We know that police brutality is a generational problem,” Tef Poe said. “My father combatted it, I’m combatting it and I’m here today to make sure that my kids don’t have to go through the same thing. Today officially marks 64 days since we lost our brother Michael Brown Jr. Every day we have been in the streets fighting for Mike Brown and all of the countless victims in our community.

He and the others promised not to be moved.

“This is not a fly by night moment. This is not a made for TV revolution,” Poe said. “This is real people standing up to a real problem saying ‘we ain’t taking it no more.’ We’re fighting for our lives.”
A movement ordained by blood.

“It’s essential for us that you recognize that this moment cannot end here,” said Montague Simmons, president of the Organization for Black Struggle. “Your participation was consecrated by blood sacrifice that goes back generations. The building behind you… nearly 200 years ago, Dred Scott’s life was ruled worth three-fifths of a human being. Police terror began before slavery ended. They didn’t value black lives then and they don’t value black lives now.”

After a musical interlude featuring protest music that ranged from Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” to Fela Kuti’s “Zombie,” Simmons was one of the group of individuals who reinforced that what they had done for the sake of Michael Brown – including the march they just completed- was the beginning of the movement and not the culminating activity.

Guests came from around the nation – and the world – to speak in solidarity with those who were still relentlessly pursing justice for Michael Brown and shedding light on the tragically dysfunctional relationship between law enforcement and the communities they serve.

Chicago, New York, Ohio, Miami and even Palestine were represented in the list of speakers designated to give the briefest of remarks.

“Palestinians and Palestinian allies have traveled from all over the country to be here with you today in solidarity, because we realize that none of us is free until all of us are free,” said Suhad Hatib on behalf of the country. “And because we know that black liberation in this country will lead to liberation for us all.”

Also among the panel of young speakers was Marshawn McCarrell of the Ohio Student Association. They have been protesting in the name of John Crawford, the young man who was killed by police in a Beaver Creek, Ohio Wal-Mart while holding a toy gun four days before Michael Brown was shot down in Canfield.

“We’re happy to report that we recently shut down the Beaver Creek police station,” McCarrell said. “We won’t find justice until we can fundamentally shift the relationship between law enforcement and our communities.”
Green was probably somewhere smiling, knowing that Ferguson and the St. Louis area – where he had been on the frontline decades before – had a hand in demonstrations around the nation and the world.
“This is fantastic – this is the way it ought to be,” Green said. “I’m just so glad that I lived to see this happen.”

As people stood talking about lives lost at the hands of law enforcement (which has grown to include Vonderrit Myers in South City just a few days ago) and the action they were committed to taking to making these tragedies the exception to the rule, attention was drawn to the Kiener Plaza fountains that ran red to celebrate the St. Louis Cardinals’ reaching the playoff season.

“Those red fountains are freaking me out because I’m thinking specifically of the blood that was shed by those who were auctioned on those steps,” Simmons said. “I’m thinking about the blood that soaked into the ground in Canfield. I’m thinking about the blood that was soaked into the ground in north city. I’m thinking about the blood that was soaked into the ground in South city this past week.”

He urged them to let the blood – both symbolic and actual – be a catalyst for their action.

“This moment only becomes a movement with you,” Simmons said. “It takes you organized, it takes you activated – it takes every one of you in the streets. If this moment is to be the transformative movement that it can be, we’ve got to make the cost of black life too high for them to take it.”