Argumentative Essay- Ferguson

In the article, "Outrage in Ferguson" by Patricia Smith from Upfront magazine, it speaks of a horrible crime that took place in Ferguson, Missouri. On August ninth a young, unarmed, black man named Michael Brown was shot by a white police officer. Reasons for this event were unclear but the nation had a pretty good idea of it. Opinions roared across America like wild fire the biggest being that racism was a factor in the death of Michael Brown. I strongly believe racism was a factor of this case and heres why.

      I know what you're thinking, what could this young man have done to cause another human to kill him? "Police say that officer Darren Wilson stopped Brown and his friend for walking in the middle of the street and blocking traffic... Brown was shot six times." This is clearlynot any reason to shoot a person six times. "Witnesses... say he wasn't moving and may have had his hands up when he was shot." Brown has put his hands up to show he wasn't going to do anything. Being a police officer you would assume Wilson would know this move by now but why didn't he this time? Most likely due to racial stereotypes that many police officers have began to think in the same frame of mind.

        Another reason I believe that racism was a part of this event is because stereotypes have been taken in as fact about African Americans nowadays especially in the U.S. The article states, "Many blocks feel persistent to discrimination. They say they're unfairly viewed with suspicion by the police—for example, often being pulled over without reason." this has happened so much to the point where there is a, sadly, well known acronym for it, "DWB—Driving While Black." we've adopted so many stereotypes like this for so many different "types" of people to the point where some people, including police, actually believe them. What ever happened to innocent until proven guilty?

    My last reason is in the article it states, "In Ferguson, where two-thirds of the residents are black, only three of the 53 police officers are black. The mayor and five of the six city council members are white. Many of the residents feel alienated." So already the residents feel weird in their own home town. "For blacks in Ferguson, the shooting reinforced the feeling that the government and police aren't looking out for them." This event. sincerely shocked not only people in Ferguson but also the nation, letting so much anger these mistreated people have been holding in for so long. "'They're just outraged, and they're tired of the police messing with them' says Patrice Mchaskell a nursery school teacher in Ferguson. "It brought out all the anger and tension everybody's been holding in."

      In conclusion I believe that racism was a huge factor in the Death of Michael Brown.