Michael Brown's death a decade ago set off a new chapter of social change
NEW YORK — There have been moments before, times of heartbreak and grief that led to anger and calls for justice. Sometimes, they never make it past a few sparks. Sometimes they smolder for a little bit before dying out. And sometimes, in certain conditions, they light a fire.
Ten years ago, in August 2014, that was the case when a white police officer shot and killed Black 18-year-old Michael Brown on the streets of Ferguson, Missouri.
Coming just weeks after the July 2014 chokehold death of Eric Garner at the hands of New York City police, in a country where the nascent push of Black Lives Matter was still reeling after the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the 2012 fatal shooting of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, the protests over Brown’s death and the heavily armed law enforcement response to them erupted in the nation’s consciousness.
It set off a new chapter in the United States’ fraught civil rights history, bringing a spotlight to longstanding issues of race and police use of force. And in doing so, it created space for ripple effects to fan out in the years after – not just in conversations about race and policing, but about race and well, everything; about protest and what it should or shouldn’t look like and who is allowed to engage in it, about equality and fairness in all kinds of directions.
___
This story is part of an AP series exploring the impact, legacy and ripple effects of what is widely called the Ferguson uprising.
Missing teen found ... Latest on diocese settlement ... Jets win home opener ... LI's top 50 restaurants