Clergy and Millennials Pursuing Justice in Ferguson

A recent trip to Ferguson, MO gave me and some forty religious leaders an opportunity to reflect on the integration of spiritual development and social justice. Organized by Sojourners, members of the Faith Table retreat interacted with local religious and civic leaders, and heard (with head and heart) their ongoing responses to the killing of Michael Brown, Jr. and the local grand jury’s failure to indict the officer who shot him.

 

Although TV cameras have focused on the violent responses, those with whom we met had been peacefully protesting and even putting themselves in harm’s way to dissuade others whose anger boiled over to violence. They have discovered that the issues they face go beyond just the killing itself. While all are clear that an unarmed black teenager should not have been killed, the incident is being viewed through the lens of systemic oppression. The policeman's characterization of Brown as a demon or Hulk Hogan illustrates the entrenchment of systematized stereotypes of young black males and their dehumanization. The young black males we met know that they are more likely to be shot by police than their white counterparts.