We at AllHipHop knew there was a special part of the story in Ferguson, Missouri that wasn’t being heard, so CEO Chuck Creekmur let me go down to Ferguson to get the 411. I had no idea what I was walking in to.
Now, let me say for the record, I did watch wall to wall coverage of what was happening in Ferguson before going down there. I was very well versed on the tragedy that came about last Saturday when an unarmed teenager named Mike Brown was shot to death in the small mid-western suburb of ST. Louis.
But it still couldn’t prepare me for the feelings that came about after I got to town.
Through some of my experience I was terrified. You can actually tell in some of the footage because my hands were literally trembling while I was trying to film what I saw. My fear of the massive police presence was not a joke.
And at no time did I EVER feel unsure or scared of the protesters.
I can not say that about the police however, as I was overwhelmed by the immense police presence and the menacing way that police seemingly stalked reporters.
There were moments of chaos, moments of clarity, definite feelings of sorrow and honestly, I’m still trying to make sense of all of it.
A city within the United States of America is under siege. The police are doing everything they can to control the story and it’s frightening. Reporter’s are being bullied and the genuinely peaceful protesters are being agitated. It’s as if police are thirsty for a fight with them so they can show a crushing use force against them. I’m in no way a conspiracy theorist but what we are seeing looks like the dooms day scenarios that American citizens keep training for out in the woods. Things that used to sound ridiculous now appear to be playing out in front of our very eyes. I didn’t feel that way until I saw the military vehicles and the sheer numbers of “combat police” on the ground in Ferguson. I started to wonder if instead of giggling at those in the woods…if maybe we shouldn’t have been taking a closer look at what they were training for.
Remember how we got here. This story only exists because a cop used excessive force against a child. The response from the police toward a community who just wants justice has been more force. How can that ever make sense? Where is the opportunity for healing ever going to come in to play when the police insist upon treating the citizens as if their voice does not matter. The people there deserve so much better than this.
I walked along the path where Mike Brown took his last breaths with some of the members of his family. I was humbled and honored to take that walk with them. Thanks to DJ Charlie Hustle and Rebel Diaz I met Calvin and Gary and they showed us everything.
Please take a look at what I saw in the video below.
**Editor’s note, the camera is a little shaky sometimes because I was trembling. Fear is a crazy thing. You can talk smack all you want to but if you’re afraid it will show in other ways.
The goal was to see what the people of Ferguson wanted us to know. I’m so glad that I went and even happier that some felt they could talk to me. The youth of Ferguson have things to say and they need you to hear them. I’m humbled to have been there in their midst and I hope they get the justice that they seek.
#HandsUpDon’tShoot is a real movement guys and they need your support. After seeing what the people in Ferguson are enduring I’m convinced that they not only need it…they deserve it.
