Public Story
Ferguson October
St. Louis hip-hop artist and activist Tef Poe considers the image of Michael Brown’s stepfather holding a sign saying, "Ferguson police just executed my unarmed son!!!" as the reason why he joined the movement for Black Lives.
On October 10, 2014, I traveled 16 hours on the road from The Bronx, New York to Ferguson, Missouri, where two months prior, an unarmed Black teenager was killed by a white police officer.
The victim: Michael Brown Jr.
The killer: Darren Wilson.
The killing sparked daily protests in Ferguson that were met with an unreasonable militarized police armed with tear gas, riot gear, and mine-resistant ambush protected vehicles. Ferguson soon became the epicenter of a growing #BlackLivesMatter movement resisting racism and demanding human rights for Black people.
By October, community leaders organized “Ferguson October: Weekend of Resistance,” a three-day gathering of thousands of supporters from around the world who participated in protests, marches, prayers, events, concerts, and workshops throughout Ferguson and St. Louis.
These images are my testimony of that weekend.
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