Last evening, we experienced yet another dark moment in American history. St. Louis County prosecutor, Bob McCulloch, announced to a large and fevered crowd in Ferguson last night that Darren Wilson–the white police officer who fatally shot the unarmed black teenager Michael Brown 6 times this past August–will not be indicted following a grand jury decision reached yesterday morning. The decision didn’t just mean that Wilson wasn’t guilty of a crime, it says that a grand jury didn’t even feel as if there was enough evidence for Darren Wilson to be brought to trial, which, in itself, is a major statement that many people around the country considered a grave injustice. The 12-person grand jury consisted of just 1 African-American man and 2 African-American women. Hospital photos of Darren Wilson’s post-shooting examination were released shortly after the announcement, and Wilson, who claimed he was “savagely beaten,” looked as if he had just rolled out of bed. Protests, riots and heavy confrontations including the Police use of tear-gas made this tragic situation yet another case of “Death & Disorder” in America. All around the country, protests and activism continued into the wee hours of the morning, and many including artists like Q-Tip and Macklemore took to the streets of their respective cities to stand defiantly in the face of a painful yet business-as-usual grand jury decision. There was clearly a lack of leadership in the midst of the rage of protests.
Next year, The Source, along with the rest of the nation, will acknowledge El Haj Malik El- Shabazz a/k/a Malcolm X‘s 90/50 Anniversary. Had he not been killed in 1965, Malcolm X would have turned 90-years old next year in 2015, which marks the 50th anniversary of his death. In the wake of the tragic shooting death of Mike Brown and the disappointing–to say the least–announcement of the grand jury’s decision, we have a question for you to consider. What would Malcolm X do? How would a man who confronted injustice and refused to bow in the face of opposition to his beliefs and basic rights as a human being react to this injustice? What would his next move be? We know he did not loot and riot. What would Malcolm X do? We want your opinions and answers. Hashtag #XLife on Twitter, Instagram and more to and let us know what you think.
