Back to the Future: Race and Riots in Ferguson, Missouri

Abstract

The two weeks of rioting that occurred in the small, southern US city of Ferguson, Missouri, constitute the final and most recent of our case studies. As usual, it revolves around a major ‘flashpoint’ incident, which is widely held to have been the trigger for the ensuing conflict that occurred. In this case, the incident in question took place on the morning of Saturday, 9 August 2014 when a white police officer, Darren Wilson, shot and killed an unarmed 18-year-old African American, Michael Brown, after Wilson and a second police officer had apprehended Brown and a friend as they were walking down the middle of the road in the direction of Brown’s grandmother’s house. Wilson had pulled up in front of Brown and the other young man, Dorian Johnson, and directed them to move onto the kerb. As the officer attempted to leave his car, he found his exit blocked by Brown. A brief struggle then took place before Brown ran off with the officer in pursuit. Seconds later, Brown stopped in his tracks and turned to face the patrolman. Some eyewitness accounts assert that Brown held up his hands in surrender at this point, whereas others maintain that he charged towards the officer. Either way, he was shot multiple times by Wilson and lay dead on the ground for a further four hours while forensic investigations took place in front of a gathering crowd.