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Chapter 26

Lori Latrice Martin and Jahaan Chandler explain that race played a significant role in influencing the murder of Michael Brown Jr in Ferguson, Missouri, on August 9, 2014. Martin and Chandler suggest that Brown’s death depicts the spoiled historical relationship between the Black community and the law. According to Martin and Chandler, the officer who killed Brown, Darren Wilson, was a trained professional whose duty was to serve and protect every citizen. However, Wilson’s statement revealed his animosity toward the Black community. Wilson described Brown as a “demon” of superhuman strength. Chandler and Martin explain that cases of police brutality and killings against the Black community are commonplace in America and across the world from military personnel and law enforcers, an indication of the pre-existing stereotypes, fictitious narratives, and myths against the Black community that is passed from between generations. The death of Michael Brown reveals that the set of laws in the country applies differently between the Blacks and the Whites.

Martin and Chandler also fault the judicial system for failing to indict Darren Wilson due to his white origin. Many Americans and scholars hoped that the family of Brown would get justice when the officer would be arraigned in court. The article further criticizes the officer’s action for shooting Brown who was jaywalking and doubted that a confrontation between Brown and the officer would lead to the officer’s cruel murder of the young boy, whose lifeless body lay on the road for four and a half hours as a warning to onlookers. The article questions the role of the prosecutor, Robert McCulloch, in promoting oppression against the Blacks. McCulloch justified Mr. Brown’s death and blamed social media users, the mainstream media, and witnesses for blowing the issue out of proportion, a suggestion that he only represented the interest of Wilson and did not consider Brown’s family. Mr. McCulloch further gave evidence to the jury without discussing and explaining it to them. The article finishes off by suggesting that brutality against the Black has been rampant, as seen with the killing of Emmet Till, the beating of Rodney King among other controversial cases, and calls for policy reforms to protect the rights of Blacks living in the country.