Photography by William Powell
On Saturday morning, the Rev. Jesse Jackson stood in the middle of Canfield Drive, at the place where Michael Brown was killed. As a light rain fell, clergy from across the region gathered around him, their umbrellas making it difficult to see through the crowd. Members of a biker gang roared down the street, dismounted, and joined the group to pay their respects. Jackson gave a moving speech, encouraging residents to speak at the ballot box and pleading for peace.
Then, he led a prayer march down West Florissant Avenue, past looted buildings and the burned-out QuikTrip. Protesters held signs and their children’s hands while chanting “hands up, don’t shoot.”
Several hours later, as darkness joined the rain still falling in fits and starts, the scene on West Florissant, which has become the epicenter for the demonstrations, was much different.
After another round of looting on Friday night—during which peaceful protesters formed human barriers to prevent robbers from entering stores—Gov. Jay Nixon declared a state of emergency and instituted a curfew in Ferguson between midnight and 5 a.m. By late evening Saturday, tension on the street was palpable, with people speculating about what would happen at midnight.
Lines of police officers stood in front of the boarded-up buildings that previously had been attacked, and lines of peaceful protesters stood in front of the officers. Occasionally, somebody would curse and rant while approaching the officers, but others would step in, calming the person down.
Police had shut down many of the major streets surrounding the area, but that hadn’t stopped traffic. Cars, some carrying passengers on their roofs, sped up and down the street, blaring music and their horns. A couple of women explained why they thought it was wrong of Ferguson Police Chief Thomas Jackson to release surveillance video showing Brown robbing a convenience store shortly before he was killed. They said the video evidence was unclear and inconclusive. They asked, even if Brown did rob the store, were police somehow trying to imply it justified shooting him?
The protest had a harder edge near the QT and an adjacent barbecue restaurant. At one point, while I was speaking to a couple of guys about the curfew, another man approached our group. His face was covered with a bandana, and he made it clear that he wanted me to leave. Then he showed me his gun.
As midnight approached, State Sen. Jamilah Nasheed pulled up with a speaker on top of her car. She announced that the curfew was approaching and asked everyone to leave. She said that if anyone had outstanding warrants or other legal issues, the last thing they needed was to be arrested for staying out too late. Some protesters heeded her call, but others grew agitated.
When it seemed Nasheed might be in trouble, St. Louis Board of Aldermen president Lewis Reed walked over to help, as did Alderman Antonio French. They took turns on the microphone, asking people to disperse. Jack Dorsey, a St. Louis native and co-founder of Twitter, stood nearby. At around midnight, he said he was planning to leave. By then, most of the protesters had gone home, too. But there were still maybe 150 on the streets. Many boasted about their plans to stay and confront police.
“Getting locked up today ain’t shit different than yesterday,” one said.
Said another, “Curfews are for kids. We grown.”
A chant of “no justice, no curfew” started up. At a few minutes past midnight, a crowd gathered in the center of the street. They parked a line of cars to block any potential traffic, ostensibly creating a wall between them and the police.
Soon, police from multiple departments, led by the highway patrol, formed at the other end of the street. They brought in several armored vehicles, with officers in body armor carrying rifles. Dozens of officers on foot formed lines behind the vehicles. Later, Missouri State Highway Patrol Capt. Ron Johnson would say this approach was not in response to the curfew, but rather reports of illicit activity at the barbecue restaurant.
The armored vehicles advanced slowly toward the protesters. Over a loudspeaker, police addressed the crowd, saying, “You are violating the state-imposed curfew. You must continue to disperse peacefully. Failure to comply may result in arrest or other actions.”
The column of protesters dwindled further, many running for home. And the cars were moved. But a couple of dozen held their ground. The police called for “gas, gas, gas.” Smoke bombs and tear-gas canisters flew from the tops of the armored vehicles, filling the street with clouds of white. That sent most of the protesters running.
At some point—Johnson wasn’t sure of the timeline, and I couldn’t see this from my vantage point—a protester allegedly pointed a gun at police, then ran, following a round of gas. One person was shot and rushed to the hospital in a protester’s car. At a press conference on Sunday morning, Johnson said the person was in critical condition. The shooter was not apprehended. Gun fire rang out from protesters on multiple occasions, some of it targeting a police car. Johnson said he was disappointed and frustrated with how things had gone.
On Sunday afternoon, peace returned. Residents helped clean up the street. Women handed out roses. Tibetan monks arrived and took photos with locals. A memorial service at Greater Grace Church for Brown drew such a large crowd, some people were left standing outside the building. The attorneys for Brown’s family addressed the crowd, as did Al Sharpton. (It was reported Sunday that a private autopsy found that Brown was shot six times, including twice in the head.)
But the speaker who received the best reception was Johnson, who was greeted with a large ovation. He’s spent days marching with protesters, listening to their concerns, giving hugs. “I am you,” he said. “I will protect you. I will protect your right to protest.”
He told a story about his son. The younger Johnson sags his pants. He has a tattoo. His father said he’s the sort of kid who might get stopped by police. “That’s my baby,” he said.
But once again, violence soon followed, this time earlier than on previous nights. By 9 p.m., police in riot gear were already on the scene deploying gas, responding to shootings, the use of Molotov cocktails, looting, and a move by protesters against the police command center, in a Target parking lot just down West Florissant in Jennings. Many peaceful protesters and even some families with children were still on the scene when the clash began. It lasted for hours.
Overnight, Nixon made the decision to send in the National Guard. Several Ferguson residents have told me they believe the people committing these acts of violence are actually from outside the community, radicals and criminals from across the region and the country who have come here to take advantage of the unrest. In his announcement, Nixon seemed to agree with that assessment.
“Tonight, a day of hope, prayers, and peaceful protests was marred by the violent criminal acts of an organized and growing number of individuals, many from outside the community and state, whose actions are putting the residents and businesses of Ferguson at risk,” Nixon said. “These violent acts are a disservice to the family of Michael Brown and his memory, and to the people of this community who yearn for justice to be served, and to feel safe in their own homes. Given these deliberate, coordinated, and intensifying violent attacks on lives and property in Ferguson, I am directing the highly capable men and women of the Missouri National Guard to assist…in restoring peace and order to this community.”
It’s clear from the daytime demonstrations that the work Johnson has done this week to restore public trust in the police department is making a difference. It’s also clear from the violence at night that there’s still a long, long way to go before this community can heal.
