G.E. Nordell's
State of Missouri
Page of Shame
The State of Missouri is a clear example of the racism, injustice, and inequality long suffered by Afro-Americans and other minorities across America.
Mostly, the treatment of blacks in Missouri and America is hidden from sight – unless, of course, you are one of the downtrodden and disenfranchised.
The problem is systemic, and also pervades states in the North and the Midwest and the West.
The fatal shooting of 'gentle giant' 18-year-old Afro-American Michael Brown, Jr. by white police officer Darren Wilson on 9 August 2014 revealed the current general police attitude of aggression and disrespect in Missouri (and nationwide) toward the citizens that the cops pretend to 'serve and protect'. The entrenched interests of government officials in the City of Ferguson, St. Louis County, and the State of Missouri have since this not-unusual shooting bent over backwards to exonerate the police officer, who was essentially a one-man lynch mob.
A great number of American police departments have replaced 'serve and protect' with 'occupy and control'.
The people of the State of Missouri should really be VERY ashamed!
The chief of the Ferguson, Missouri Police Dept. stated to reporters that Officer Wilson told him at the station that Wilson was unaware of the robbery at Ferguson Market. (Very bad move, because the chief's statement eliminated Wilson's 'probable cause' excuse.)
The attorney for Ferguson Market stated publicly that NO ONE from the store called 911 to report the cigar theft. So who told the police?
On August 27, news media broadcast a purported audio recording of the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The recording contains 10 shots all from the same location, according to acoustic experts who specialize in helping police identify urban gunshots. The creators of ShotSpotter technology, used in 65 American cities, reviewed an audio recording aired by C.N.N. that is claimed to have the Brown shooting in the background of an online videochat conversation. C.N.N. said that the man who discovered the gunshots in the background of this recording is working with St. Louis attorney Lopa Blumenthal.
(The taped evidence was NOT presented to the grand jury.)
C.N.N. broadcast [2:57] of 26 August 2014 (with sound of the shots as recorded)
Washington Post article on 2 September 2014
Groups around the country stood up to protest the epidemic of police violence facing black and brown minority communities. Organization for Black Struggle, Missourians Organizing for Reform & Empowerment, and newly-formed group Hands Up United worked with organizers on the ground in Ferguson, Missouri to call for 'a weekend of resistance' on October 10-13.
Organization for Black Struggle [est. 1980] is based in St. Louis
Missourians Organizing for Reform & Empowerment [est. 10/2012] is based in St. Louis
Hands Up United [est. 8/2014] is based in the St. Louis area
Ferguson Action [est. 10/2014]
12/2014 "Who Killed Michael Brown?" animated political cartoon [1:40] by Mark Fiore
The Grand Jury Decision
In late November, news media and police officials and even the Missouri National Guard warned the public that they are prepared to quell any uprising should the county grand jury fail to indict Officer Wilson for statutory crimes. (The middle ground is that the police officer should be put on trial so that a jury can decide; failure of the grand jury to indict Wilson constitutes approval of his actions by grand jury members - three black, nine white - and by the un-recused district attorney.)
Any indictments for Federal crimes, such as violation of Brown's civil rights, await the grand jury's actions.
The local Ku Klux Klan passed out paper flyers in Ferguson threatening 'lethal force' against unruly protesters during any demonstrations after the grand jury decision is made public. The Anonymous cyber collective warned the K.K.K. that Anonymous would shortly take control of their websites; the K.K.K. mocked Anonymous on various Twitter accounts; Anonymous declared the K.K.K. a terrorist organization and hacked the K.K.K.'s websites and Twitter accounts on Sunday November 16th, and began revealing the photos and names and addresses of secretive K.K.K. members in the Ferguson area (a tactic called 'doxing').
The county grand jury issued a statement on Monday November 24 and declined to indict; the stated reason was 'conflicting testimony'. Therefore,
no justice for Mike Brown, unless the Feds file for violation of civil rights, or the family files civil actions against the police officer who killed the boy
and against the town of Ferguson, Missouri – which has much to be ashamed of.
As expected, rioters looted and burned on the night of the grand jury decision, followed next day by more than 100 loosely-organized protests and marches
across the country. New York City protesters blocked the Holland Tunnel and protesters in Los Angeles blocked the Hollywood Freeway.
The National Bar Association called for federal charges against Darren Wilson.
Later details revealed that the presentation to the grand jury was a travesty. The local district attorney very intentionally included obviously false testimony
- even from individuals who were not at the scene - so that the grand jury was forced to conclude that there was some doubt about events, and
thus they could not indict police officer Darren Wilson.
The Department of Justice Reports
The first DoJ report, issued on March 4th, listed reasons why the Feds would not indict Officer Wilson; basically, there was no credible evidence (and a tough standard for indictment) to contradict Wilson's statements that he feared for his life in the incident. The second DoJ report accused the Ferguson Police Department of engaging in 'a pattern or practice of unlawful conduct that violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law'.
 | "The Ferguson Report: Department of Justice Investigation of The Ferguson Police Department" [2015] by U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, Introduction by Theodore M. Shaw, renowned legal scholar and former president of the N.A.A.C.P. Legal Defense & Educational Fund
The New Press pb [6/2015] for $8.46 |
On March 5th, the Brown family announced that they were filing a wrongful death lawsuit against Wilson and the city of Ferguson.
On March 10th, John Shaw, City Manager of Ferguson, Missouri resigned based on scathing revelations in the second DoJ report.
The Racism Continues . . .
The tiny town of Parma, Missouri elected a new mayor in April 2015 who happened to be female and Afro-American. When former city clerk Tyrus Byrd
was sworn in as mayor, she was informed that three (of six) sworn police officers and the city attorney and a supervisor at the water treatment plant
had resigned right after the election. Racism in America includes the stupidity of quitting your job in this stagnant economy.
 | "The Lynching of Cleo Wright" [1998] by Dominic J. Capeci, Jr.
In January 1942, an Afro-American worker from the local cottonseed oil mill knifed a white soldier's wife in her Sikeston, Missouri home and nearly killed the first police officer who tried to arrest him; he was shot by police and was left to die in an unsecured jail; an angry white mob hauled Wright out of jail and dragged him through the streets of town before burning him alive. Kindle Edition from Univ Press of Kentucky [1998 edition] for $32.00 {sic} Univ Press of Kentucky 9x6 hardcover [5/98] for $38.59 |
 | "Lynchings In Missouri, 1803-1981" [2009] by Harriet C. Frazier At least 227 mob lynchings took place on Missouri soil between 1803 and (yes) 1981. McFarland & Co. 9¾x7 pb [8/2009] for $36.10 |
 | "Summary Justice: The Lynching of James Scott and The Trial of George Barkwell In Columbia, Missouri, 1923" [2010] by Doug Hunt A mob of several hundred men and women gathered in the spring of 1923 to watch the lynching of a black man (wrongly) accused of raping a college professor's daughter; the book describes both the mob's actions and the later attempts of a few citizens, black and white, to bring the lynching's leaders to justice. Kindle Edition from Amazon Digital Services [6/2010] for $2.99 {sic} CreateSpace 8¼x5½ pb [6/2010] out of print/used |
There will, of course, soon be books about the Micheal Brown / Ferguson, Missouri tragedy.
Okay, now you can go to the
Missouri Section on the Main Travel & Business Links Page
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