Dispatch from Ferguson, Saturday, Sunday, August 17

by Li Onesto | August 17, 2014 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us

It is 3 a.m., Sunday morning, August 17, 2014. I just made it back after covering an amazing, beautiful night on the streets with hundreds determined to get justice for Michael Brown—to demand that the killer cop who shot him down in cold blood be indicted, convicted and sent to jail. Yesterday, the governor announced a state of emergency and a curfew from 12 midnight to 5 a.m.—a vicious attack on the people, to try and suppress their anger. But tonight people weren’t having it.

As I reported earlier, in the afternoon at the Governor Nixon/Captain Johnson press conference, there was a lot of anger that what the governor was talking about was more repression and nothing about the indictment of the police who executed Michael Brown. 

I got down to Florissant Street around 9:30 p.m. For a week now hundreds of people have been gathering on this major street, close to where Michael Brown was killed—lining the streets, holding their hands up and chanting “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot!”—a steady stream of cars honking in unity. Again, the scene this night had an edge of defiance and celebration. But the rain that came and went was not the only storm brewing.

Hundreds lined up along the street and on one corner, and lots of others were standing in groups, some engaged in intense discussions. The crowd was overwhelming Black and from Ferguson. But there were lots and lots of others—from around the country—and tons of journalists, including international press. There were also many white people from other cities as well as surrounding neighborhoods who wanted to stand with the people of Ferguson.

There is still shock and seething outrage over the military style repression unleashed against the protestors earlier in the week. The authorities have put considerable effort into a cosmetic change in the image of the police while still not charging the murdering pig or removing the chief of police and while still using SWAT teams, tear gas and military vehicles to break up peaceful protests. And along with this they have also actively worked to create “peace police”—enlisting various social forces and confused people (some of whom claim to be radical) to enforce the authorities decrees on the people, like the curfew. 

I went through the crowd and talked to people. Some said they were getting ready to leave. But others were very clear—they had come to defy the curfew. I walked up to one group of men who basically said, “Fuck the curfew, there’s no justice, we’re not going home. They got bullets but we aren’t scared of that.”

At one point a guy, who was clearly a provocateur started going among people saying the he had just come from the police command center and that there had been some kind of information that the police were not going to use tear gas or rubber bullets—they were going to use live ammunition against anyone who stayed past the curfew. This was meant to scare people and get them to go home.

I walked down to the main intersection where most people were gathered—it was about 11:30. Here the scene was intense—mainly because at this point the people who wanted to go home had pretty much left. The hundreds gathered now were those who were standing up for justice for Mike Brown and facing an illegitimate curfew—in the face of tear gas and rubber bullets and maybe more. Looking way down the street you could already see the forces of the state arrayed, the police cars with their flashing lights and MRAPs (“mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles”).

The peace police were going around, at this point not asking but demanding that people leave.

The multi-national crew of revolutionaries—who have been out in the streets with the people all week—were standing with the people. Among the protestors there was a clear sense that this curfew is illegitimate. It has been seven days, and the killer cop has not been charged—they want to suppress the people’s anger while they “investigate”—when, in fact, it has been the rebellion of the people that has put this out in the world and forced the system to even respond to this murder. People took up chants including: “Indict. Convict. Send the Killer Cop to Jail. The Whole Damn System Is Guilty as Hell!” “The curfew is illegitimate. We refuse to live like this!”

It was less than 10 minutes til midnight and people weren’t leaving when these political firemen attacked the revolutionaries, trying to drive a wedge between them and the masses. They got on their bullhorn and started calling on the people to reject the “cracker communists.” They thought this would help to get people to heed the curfew. But again, the masses weren’t having this. Some were saying, “If you want to go home, then go home. But we’re staying!”

Then in the middle of all this, a woman stepped up and started calling out to people: “No Justice! No Curfew!” In response to the call to “go home and get some rest” she said—“Michael Brown can’t get no rest, he can’t go home. We’re not going home!” She was unstoppable in calling on people to go up against the curfew. This really helped to strengthen people’s resolve as the minutes ticked down to midnight.

Another guy was going through the crowd saying, “Get these white journalists out of here!” A tall Black man in a hoodie responded, repeatedly shouting, “This ain’t about Black and white—this is about the system. This is about the system!”

Then right at midnight people surged into the street—“Hands Up! Don’t Shoot!” The defiance was palpable. The police all the while were blasting over their sound system that people were going to be arrested for violation of the curfew. The rain, which had been pretty much coming down all night, actually stopped for a while. People came up against a line of cars that had been placed as a barricade across the street. The rain began to pour down, but again, people were undeterred—it seemed to only bolster people’s fierce determination. It was like they were saying: NOTHING is going to stop us!!

Then as people continued to march, the smoke grenades and tear gas began. People started to run, then some turned around and ran back toward the police. I heard someone yell, “Throw them back! Throw them back!” and people hurled back the tear gas canisters towards the police lines.

Then, only seconds later, we heard people behind us shouting, “The police are coming,” and people started running.

It was close to 1 a.m. now. Bravely, the people had defied the curfew for almost a full hour. 

Along Florissant, one woman had carried a sign that read, “Making History.” Indeed, this is what people did tonight. Again, people sent a message around the country and the world that they demand justice and refuse to live this way!

Tonight the curfew is in effect again. And there is still no justice for Mike Brown.

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