Approximately 450 protestors gathered today to continue their #NotOneDimeCampaign in protest of the shooting of 18 year old Michael Brown and the non-indictment of Officer Darren Wilson on November 29, 2014
Today in Brentwood, Missouri, approximately 450 Ferguson protestors gathered in solidarity to protest Black Friday Holiday shopping weekend in connection with the shooting of Michael Brown and the non-indictment of Officer Darren Wilson.
The protestors marched through several stores including Trader Joe’s and Target. Several stores closed their doors for a few minutes to keep protesters out. From the outside, some of the workers could be seen protesting with those stopped outside their store windows. The protestors chanted, “You can’t stop the revolution” as they clapped their hands and knocked on windows.
Protestors then advanced and blocked the busy entrance of the Brentwood Promenade at Eager Rd. They stood on the front lines with linked arms chanting phrases like, “Punk a** police we don’t need ‘em, need ‘em, back up, back up we want freedom, freedom”, “The people United, will never be defeated”, and “Show me what democracy looks like, this is what democracy looks like”. The intersection was shut down for approximately 15 minutes before the police started urging protestors to stop blocking traffic.
As the protestors marched on, several vehicles blew their horns and even chanted out of their windows in solidarity. One driver even told the police to go home. The youth were energetic and fired up for justice. There was an overall sense of empowerment. It felt like high time for change. As the police presence intensified, there was a young lady who walked through the crowd passing out the number for Jail Support just in case of arrest. Suddenly the crowd began moving toward a protestor who was being arrested. Ironically, he was exercising his legal right to cross the street, but they hauled him off anyway.
The police officers could be seen trying to kettle in the protestors to keep them from moving and even crossing the street. It was made known to the masses that there was a possibility that as they exercised their legal right to cross the street, they could be arrested. The crowd seemed not to care as they began their assent up the hilly intersection of Hanley Road.
A mass “Die In” was done at a local Buffalo Wild Wings, and as protestors lay there, they began chanting “No Justice, No Wings.” A young lady began to speak over the bullhorn speaking on police protocol, 1st Amendment Rights, and ended with a quote from Assata Shakur which reads, “It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love each other and support each other. We have nothing to lose but our chains.”
The entire protest lasted about 90 minutes.
-Nykki Siren (@QueenMelaK)
