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 Several dozen protesters - many of them ministers and activists
from out of town - were arrested in the pouring rain in civil
disobedience acts in Ferguson, the suburb where Michael Brown, 18,
was shot dead.
Throughout the day, other groups occupied St. Louis city hall, shut
down two Walmarts, chanted outside a fundraiser for a local
politician, and unfurled banners reading "black lives matter" at a
St. Louis Rams football game.
One person was arrested at St. Louis city hall, police said, and a
Reuters witness saw three more people arrested as 150 protesters
chanted at the Walmart in the small inner suburb of Maplewood.
"This is a historic day," said Mervyn Marcano, a spokesman for
"Ferguson October," four days of protests culminating on what
organizers call "Moral Monday."
Over the weekend there were marches, rallies, vigils and teach-ins
in Ferguson and St Louis and organizers livestreamed events to show
that there was no violence or looting.
Drenched in a deluge of rain, protesters chanted "Wade in the Water"
and other spirituals and civil rights anthems as ministers of
different faiths kneeled on the wet pavement before a line of state
troopers in Ferguson. In a carefully choreographed demonstration the
activists slowly broke the police line and forced police to arrest
them.
"I'm taking a step forward now. I'm not resisting arrest. I'm going
to step forward. I demand to meet with Ferguson authorities. I want
to demand justice for Mike Brown," said Communist Party
representative Carl Dix as he breached the line and got arrested. He
was released later in the day.
Other activists and ministers prayed and preached to the troopers.
Demonstrator Aaron Burnett, 45, said he saw two troopers get
emotional during the civil disobedience act.
"We had a couple police officers crying. You've got pastors in front
of you and people praying and they were feeling that," said Burnett,
from the Organization for Black Struggle.
Apart from some brief moments of pushing, the police were restrained
and even chatty, and they did not face a barrage of insults and
thrown objects on Monday as they have in other protests in Ferguson.
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Local and national clergy, civil rights groups, activists and
community organizers were helping lead the demonstrations, which
they said were aimed at drawing attention to what they say is police
mistreatment of blacks, and building momentum for a national
movement against police violence.
Numerous protests have been held since the Aug. 9 killing of Brown,
by white police officer Darren Wilson. Tensions escalated last week
after a white officer in St. Louis shot and killed another
18-year-old black man, Vonderrit Myers Jr., last Wednesday. Police
say Myers fired at the off-duty officer and that they have recovered
a weapon for the scene.
A grand jury is considering charges against Wilson, who has been
placed on administrative leave. Protesters want Wilson arrested
immediately and have called for the appointment of a special
prosecutor. The U.S. Justice Department has launched a civil rights
investigation into Brown's death.
"The weekend has been incredible to help re-energize those of us
that are here," said Ferguson Democratic Committeewoman Patricia
Bynes. "The message is getting out there."
People of many races and backgrounds participated in the protests.
"I believe in my black brothers and sisters and the fact they feel
they are threatened by the police and that racial profiling is going
on," said Brenden Graczak, a 22-year-old white man from St. Louis
who joined the demonstration at the police department.
(Additional reporting by Jim Young in St Louis and Carey Gillam in
Kansas City, Missouri; Editing by Peter Cooney, Lisa Shumaker and
Richard Pullin)
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