Activist DeRay McKesson on his arrest and what's next for Ferguson
Last Sunday marked one year since 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot dead by the police in Ferguson, Missouri. The protests have continued but intensified with the anniversary of the shooting. A state of emergency has now been declared by county authorities.
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Activist DeRay McKesson is arrested by St. Louis and Federal Protective Service police outside the Thomas F. Eagleton Federal Courthouse, Monday, Aug. 10, 2015, in St. Louis. Several protesters were arrested. ((AP Photo/Jeff Roberson))
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On Monday, DeRay McKesson was arrested outside a federal courthouse in St. Louis, Missouri, alongside fellow activist Johnetta Elzie and philosopher Cornel West.
"I was arrested because the police didn't want to be questioned...it was not my goal to be arrested," McKesson tells As It Happens guest host Peter Armstrong.
They were part of a crowd of demonstrators calling on the Department of Justice to take swift action on enforcing police transparency.
McKesson explains, "the police are pushing back on the DOJ...the Ferguson police have not been reflective at all about their practice."
Officers and protesters face off along West Florissant Avenue, Monday, Aug. 10, 2015, in Ferguson, Mo. Ferguson was a community on edge again Monday, a day after a protest marking the anniversary of Michael Brown's death was punctuated with gunshots. ((AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)) The protest is one of many taking place to mark the one year anniversary of the fatal shooting of unarmed 18-year-old, Michael Brown. Although a year has passed since the Ferguson, Missouri shooting, the protests have continued and intensified with this weekend's anniversary. On Sunday, a teenager allegedly exchanged gunfire with the police prompting county authorities to declare a state of emergency.
"It always feels like a state of emergency when the police are killing people at the rate that they are killing them...remember, in St. Louis, the police have killed eight people since August, paralyzed one and another one is in stable condition now after just being shot the other day."
McKesson is a prominent organizer of the Black Lives Matter movement and member of WeTheProtestors. From the beginning, he has been heavily involved in the protests and is not surprised by the authorities action.
"The state of emergency declared by the government is a response to the assembly of Black people...it is exactly what happened last Fall...we've always been in a state of emergency, especially with the tyranny that police have inflicted on communities."
The images on social media illustrate the atmosphere in the most recent demonstrations. McKesson describes that "the police continue to provoke protestors with their presence and with their actions...last night we saw police rush the crowd and mace people...do some sweeping arrests and then they came out today and said that there were actually no guns found on any of the people they arrested but they thought they saw them...so we see the aggressiveness of police continue to provoke people."
But despite the violence, McKesson remains hopeful.
"What I'm proud of is that the public and the mainstream media has been much more critical of police narratives and has realized that they need to question the police and how the police operate because we can't believe the police all the time...we know that to be true now."
Even after reports that he is being monitored by the Department of Homeland Security, McKesson is determined to keep the momentum going.
"There is a long tradition of law enforcement targeting people engaged in civil rights work...I'm sure there are other protesters who are also being targeted as well...I'll never be afraid to tell the truth...it doesn't effect how I act at all...you know, ever since Edward Snowden, I'm sure that they know what I'm tweeting before I even tweet it."
In this Monday, Aug. 10, 2015, photo, people participate in a Black Lives Matter protest, stopping the Green Line light rail transit and automobile traffic, in St. Paul, Minn., in memory of Michael Brown, who was fatally shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., one year ago Sunday. ((Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Pioneer Press via AP)) McKesson cannot predict whether the protests will continue but insists "I know that we won't undo three or four hundred years of oppression in three hundred days...we will be at it until there is a solution."
He adds, "next year I think it will be focused on how do we end...how do we end the police terror...how do we focus on solutions and how do we do that work that makes sense...I'm hopeful...I think there is a lot of talent in the protest base and I look forward to seeing what the next year holds."
