I see the events in Ferguson as a catalyst towards a new civil rights movement in American

culture. The deaths of Michael Brown, taken alongside Walter Scott, Trayvon Martin, Eric
Garner, Tamir Rice, and Samuel DuBose have led the public to develop a new set of values and
ideas. Before Ferguson, rampant police militarization went unquestioned, but after seeing the
shock troop-like images of police staring down protestors, America called for police to relinquish
their heavy weapons and armor.
Before Ferguson, the specter of revenue-based policing was not in the public eye, yet had taken a
disproportionate toll on minorities and the poor. After the Department of Justice released its
report detailing widespread racism and racially-based policing, America began to see a different,
darker side of those sworn to protect and serve us. America confronted a new legacy of the
policeand subsequently did not want to admit that some police in America were out of control.
Fergusons legacy, to me, represents a turning point in the relationships between the police and
all citizens of the United States, especially African-Americans.
Surely, we are past the days of Klan hoods and lynch ropes, but the spree of deaths of black
men, teenagers, and even children at the hands of police show that the battle for equality is far
from over as long as such power is concentrated in the hands of large, low-accountability,
potentially overzealous group of people. I think of Bill de Blasio having to explain to his
children the dangers of growing up black in an over-policed world, and that no parent should
ever have to have that conversation with their child.
Ferguson shows us that police in America have taken a long fall from the friendly status they
enjoyed as heroes and keepers of the peace, and by their actions have split the uniquely violent
nature of American policing off from the rest of the world, whose attitudes towards police and
policing greatly differ from our own. We see a re-emergence of victim blaming and police
apologists, looking for any number of reasons why an innocent person needed to die, rather than
suggest that the police in America are out of control.
Ferguson leaves a complicated shadow of race, mistrust, and power in its wake, but it is through
these events that real action has been undertaken to help solve Americas obsession with police,
violence, and the prison pipeline.
Ill be frankI dont trust police very much anymore. From my own observances, they are heavyhanded bullies who use the power of their position to intimidate and coerce. Ferguson confirmed
what I long thought about municipal violation-based policing, as more departments turn to
restrictive policing to turn a profit. I do not feel protected when I see a police officer, rather I feel
threatened. I am also wary of the lack of accountability placed on a police applicant. In most
cases, nothing outside of a high school diploma or associates degree is required to join the force,
allowing persons with prejudices and biases to be elevated into a position where they have
leverage over everyone else because of a piece of metal on their chests. Here in Green Bay,
police are trying to improve their strained relationship with the black community through weekly
basketball tournaments. The chief was quoted as saying We dont want another Ferguson here.
To me, thats tone deaf and indicative of the rampant lack of cultural competency that a truly
good force of protectors needs to have.