Ferguson protesters move from streets to stores on Black Friday

Protester Johnetta Elzie.

 Chenjerai Kumanyika

Dozens of protesters interrupted holiday shopping in the St. Louis area late Thursday and early Friday as part of the ongoing reaction to a grand jury's decision to not indict the Ferguson police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown this past August. 
Protester Johnetta Elzie, who who had been tweeting and posting videos of the demonstrations, told the Associated Press that the group went to a Wal-Mart and Target in Brentwood, two Wal-Marts in St. Charles and one Wal-Mart in Manchester. KTVI-TV reported that in the suburbs of Maplewood and Kirkwood, several police cars and some National Guard vehicles patrolled Wal-Mart stores in case of protests. 
Protesters spent a few minutes at each store, shouting inside. Officer in at least one store ordered them to leave. There was no immediate word of any arrests.
At the Manchester Wal-Mart, about two dozen people chanted "no justice, no peace, no racist police" and "no more Black Friday" after officers warned that protesters risked arrest if they didn't move at least 50 feet from the store's entrance, then began advancing in unison toward the protesters until they were moved further into the parking lot.
The mostly black group of protesters chanted in the faces of the officers -- most of whom were white -- as shoppers looked on.
"We want to really let the world know that it is no longer business as usual," said Chenjerai Kumanyika an assistant professor at Clemson University. He added although part of the aim in disrupting Black Friday was to call attention to disagreement with the grand jury's decision and the way the case was handled, Kumanyika said it was also to highlight other forms of injustice.
"Capitalism is one of many systems of oppression," he said as the group cleared out of the parking lot.
Ferguson itself was quiet overnight as the Thanksgiving holiday put a break on the protests that had rocked the town over the previous three nights. No police officers or Missouri National Guard members stood sentry outside the Ferguson police station, which had been a nexus for protesters since Monday night's announcement that officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted. Early Friday, St. Louis County Police said no arrests had been made overnight. 
On a downtown street, beneath a lighted "Season's Greetings" garland, three children used paintbrushes to decorate the plywood covering many storefront windows that was put up to foil potential vandals. One quoted from "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it's not."
"We thought we'd do what we could to make it a little more attractive and then try to bring the kids into it and get them involved in making the businesses appear a little less scary, depressing," said Leah Bailey, as her 7-year-old son Dennis climbed a ladder to finish an orange dragon.
Several hours after dark, a few people continued painting, but there was no visible protest activity. National Guard troops occasionally patrolled the area and surrounding neighborhoods in vehicles and on foot.
Greater St. Mark Family Church sits blocks from where several stores went up in flames after the grand jury announcement. A handful of people listened to the Rev. Tommie Pierson preach Thursday that the destruction and chaos was by "a small group of out-of-control people out there."
"They don't represent the community, they don't represent the mood nor the feelings of the community," Pierson said. "I would imagine if you talked to them, they probably don't even live here. So, we don't want to be defined by what they did."
In downtown St. Louis, a group gathered near Busch Stadium for what organizer Paul Byrd called a "pro-community" car rally meant to be peaceful and counter the recent Ferguson violence he suggested has tarnished the region's image.
Byrd, a 45-year-old construction worker from Imperial, Missouri, declined to say whether he supported Wilson but noted, "I totally support police officers." The cruise was escorted by a city police vehicle; no protesters showed up. 

Maybe some who read this blog should email or give Mr. Kumanyika a call and ask him how he can spare so much time protesting, when he is getting paid to teach.

Kumanyika, Chenjerai
Assistant Professor
Email: kkumany@clemson.edu
Office: 414 Strode
Phone: 864-656-1567