To the Teacher:
On the night of Wednesday, March 11, 2015, protesters once again gathered outside the Ferguson, Missouri, police headquarters.
Having spent eight months calling for changes in police practices after the shooting death of unarmed teenager Michael Brown, protesters were finally seeing results: the city manager and police chief had resigned earlier in the week after the U.S. Department of Justice released a scathing report about the Ferguson Police Department. (See our lesson on the report.) The DOJ report found that the Ferguson police force was rife with racial discrimination and that the city’s budget depended on the fees and penalties the municipal court system extracted from the mostly black and low income residents of Ferguson.
But the protesters’ sense of achievement didn’t stop them from being back out in the street, demanding further changes. St. Louis Public Radio interviewed some of the protesters:
"We have to stay on them because if we stop they’ll go right back to business as usual because unfortunately the majority of the American people are not interested," Stewart, 69, said. ...
Clifton Kinnie, 18, said he continues to protest because he wants comprehensive criminal justice reform throughout the St. Louis region.
"We want genuine change. And if you’re going to implement legislation, don’t just implement it to appease us. Genuinely mean it. Genuinely enforce it. You say we’re a country of the free, right? Show that," Kinnie said.
But then, as the peaceful protests were winding down shortly after midnight, shots were fired. One police officer was hit in the shoulder, the other in the face. Both were rushed the hospital; both have since been released.
The headlines on Thursday morning were not about Ferguson police chief Tom Jackson finally resigning. They were about the two police officers who had been shot and wounded. On March 15, police charged a suspect, Jeffrey Williams, with the shooting. Williams said he had not been targeting police; protesters said they did not know him. Police say they are still investigating.
The lesson plan that follows will explore the fallout and reactions to the violence in Ferguson on March 12, 2015.
Gathering
Show or read students the following John Lewis tweets:
Ask students if they know who John Lewis is. Elicit and explain that Congressman John Lewis is a civil rights leader who marched alongside Dr. King. He is a Democrat from Georgia.
Ask students if they know what this tweet is in response to. Ask them to share what they know about what happened in Ferguson on the night of March 11, 2015. Elicit and explain what happened using the "to the teacher" segment above.
Check agenda and objectives
Explain that in today’s lesson we’ll explore the fallout and reactions to the protests and the shooting of two police officers in Ferguson, MO.
Responses to Police Shootings in Ferguson
1. Reddit user ExLenne, in response to the police shootings in Ferguson
Racists will dehumanize the citizens of Ferguson and act as though they all support this violence.
The other side of the extreme will support this violence and perhaps commit further acts, giving the former all the ammunition they need to fit their narrative.
The media ... will rile up both sides. There will be no civil discourse.... many on both sides will start to see each other as enemies if they don't already.
All the reasonable people, however diverse their opinions on Ferguson and LEO [Law Enforcement Officers] and race, will be drowned out. ...
Attempts to show concern for all those affected by the violence, saying that it isn't the answer and that all of these people grouping together feeding their rage against the system is creating a recipe for retaliation will be labeled as racist or dismissive. ...
Ask students to read ExLenne excerpt. Then discuss some or all of the following questions:
- What are your thoughts and feelings about this excerpt?
- What does ExLenne say about the response of racists to events in Ferguson?
- What does ExLenne say about those who support this violence?
- What does ExLenne say about the media?
- How do you think ExLenne feels about showing concern for people affected by violence? How does ExLenne think showing concern will be interpreted?
- Does ExLenne believe that a civil discourse will be possible? Why or why not?
2. What Next for Black Lives Matter in Ferguson after City’s Police Shooting, The Guardian, 3/13/15
Even Johnetta (Netta) Ezlie, who was out protesting in the very first days, acknowledged: "In August, I didn’t think this was going to last past the weekend. I didn’t think this was going to be a movement. I just wanted to pay my respects to Mike Brown and just be black in America." ...
Ezlie is passionate about how black women have been instrumental in American civil rights fights since before their roles were acknowledged. Perhaps this is key to how the movement has sustained its momentum, and why it was able to keep going just hours after it was simultaneously blamed for, and in the crossfires of, sniper shots. ...
When officials and media began conflating the protesters with whoever fired the shots on Wednesday night, Netta Ezlie quickly [pointed out] that ... "bullets don’t have names. That could have easily been one of us" shot, she said, adding that while the police had been focusing on protesters, "the real danger to everybody" was away from their group "up the hill."
When St. Louis County erroneously said the shooter was "embedded" with the protesters, Reed [Kayla Reed of the Organization for Black Struggle] ... noted it was a dangerous precedent to lump "everyone in the world who is not a cop into the term ‘protesters’." Reed said there was no question in her mind that, even after the shootings, "we needed to come back" the very next night.
Ask students to read the Guardian excerpt. Then discuss some or all of the following questions:
- What are your thoughts and feelings about this excerpt?
- What are your thoughts and feelings about Ezlie’s response to the police shootings in Ferguson?
- What does Ezlie say about the officials and media conflating protesters with whoever fired the shots?
- How does that relate to what ExLenne talked about before?
- How does another protester, Kayla Reed, feel about this?
- Why would she think it’s dangerous to lump "everyone in the world who is not a cop into the term ‘protesters’"?
- What are your thoughts about this?
3. Ferguson Shooting: Authorities Investigate ‘Ambush’ of Officers, Wall Street Journal, March 12, 2015
The shootings were widely condemned, and protest leaders were clear in saying the violence wasn’t connected to their effort to raise awareness about policing and racial discrimination. "We specifically denounce the actions of stand-alone agitators who unsuccessfully attempt to derail the otherwise peaceful and nonviolent movement," Mr. Brown’s family said in statement.
During an appearance Thursday to discuss efforts to improve police and community relations, Attorney General Eric Holder said: "Seeing this attack last night really turned my stomach." This "was a pure ambush...This was a damn punk who was trying to sow discord in an area trying to get its act together.’’
Thursday night, protesters gathered in front of the Ferguson Police Department, blocking the street and chanting, "No justice, no peace," to the accompaniment of a drum. After a prayer vigil, the demonstrators’ mood turned almost festive, with a few police officers standing near squad cars and others in riot gear looking on.
St. Louis County Police and other officers consciously maintained standoff distance between protesters to avoid unnecessary antagonism, with a few officers walking into the crowd and engaging people in conversation.
By midnight, as it started to rain, protesters got in their cars and left. Police, likewise, went inside to get out of the rain, leaving the streets quiet.
About a mile away, four city council candidates ended an hours-long forum where they answered questions and discussed the way forward for the city in front of a subdued audience.
Ask students to read the Wall Street Journal excerpt. Then discuss some or all of the following questions:
- What are your thoughts and feelings about the excerpt?
- What are your thoughts and feelings about the protesters’ response to the police shootings in Ferguson? What about Holder’s response?
- According to this excerpt how are the police and protesters relating to one another?
- How does that relate to what ExLenne talked about before?
4. Cop in Ferguson says ‘Protesters Are Going to be the Ones to Help Us’
Ask students to watch police officer Robert Howard in this NBC News clip.
Then discuss some or all of the following questions:
- What are your thoughts and feelings about the clip?
- What are your thoughts and feelings about Howard’s response to the police shootings in Ferguson?
- What does Howard say about the protesters?
- What does Howard say about opportunists?
- Do you think Howard looks at the protesters as his opponents or the enemy?
Closing
Explain that you’d like to end your lesson where you started, with John Lewis’s tweets:
Ask students if and how they think today’s lesson relates to Congressman Lewis’s tweet.