Community events planned for fifth anniversary of Michael Brown shooting ('Gentle Giant')

FERGUSON, Mo. – It has been five years since Michael Brown was shot and killed by a police officer in Ferguson. In that time, Ferguson has grown as a city. The mayor has said he doesn’t want the anniversary to reopen any scabs. Instead, he hopes the city will continue toward growing stronger together.

As Fox 2’s Katherine Hessel reports, there are several events planned for the anniversary in Ferguson and across St. Louis County.

9 a.m. - Michael Brown Sr. will ask for his son’s case to be reopened. St. Louis County Justice Center in Clayton

1 p.m. - Community Day Celebration, Sponsored by “The Chosen for Change Foundation” Ferguson Empowerment Center

10 a.m. - National Conference of Ending Violence in America Beloved Community United Methodist Church

9 a.m. - Advocacy Gathering hosted by the “Center for Social Empowerment” St. Stephens Episcopal Church on North Clay

I’ve been living in Ferguson for decades and posted about the riots and their aftermath 5 years ago. Ferguson, unlike Baltimore and other cities subjected to Obama-inspired abuse, has been doing quite well. Property values are improving, businesses are returning (most never left), and the citizens are working together as Americans regardless of ethnicity.

I have wanted to write an update for the past several months, but I’m still angry about the assault and abuse my city was subjected to from the media as well as the Federal and State governments, and this anger clouded my writing. The events surrounding the anniversary of this horrible event need to be recounted by someone with boots on the ground.

There are two primary streets in Ferguson. West Florissant Road is where Mikey smoked lots of weed and Florissant Road is where the Ferguson Police Station is. The QuikTrip no longer exists and has been replaced with an Urban League office. Hard to get gas, coffee, and a hot dog at the Urban League, but consequences can be brutal.

I drove down West Florissant after the party broke up and it was still peaceful as of 4:00. Lots of pop-up tents and a local radio station had a van there. It was odd to see a few food trucks on the street, but celebrating a thug does make one hungry. I did not see any major media presence, but there was a tent registering people to vote.

Florissant Road was quiet and peaceful at that time and I went on about my life. 9:00 I returned home and there were about 3-4 dozen fools across the street from the Police Station. The police were there, keeping them in line and I did not smell any weed or booze. The police allowed them onto the street for brief periods of time, but there was no major blockage of the street.

The being who biologically engendered Mikey and the other being who gave birth to the odious one are striving to continue their misbegotten fame. They have managed to turn the attempted destruction of a fine city into fame and fortune for themselves and are seeking to keep that train running.

It’s midnight now and my hope is that the fools at the police station will get tired and go home. I have not seen out-of-state license plates, so there’s no professional agitators telling them what to do. I’m close enough to the police station that I heard their noise and watched the helicopter fly overhead 5 years ago, and everything seems calm right now. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Drove down Florissant and West Florissant Roads to see how things went overnight. There was no damage anywhere and only a bit more trash on West Florissant than usual. There was evidence (filled trash bags, packed trash cans) that the participants of yesterday’s events were more aware of the need to clean up after themselves than they were 5 years ago.

Near West Florissant Road, the Thug memorial on Canfield Green (formerly known as a pile of flammable plush toys in the middle of the apartment complex’s main street) has returned, but it was kept within clearly marked lines on the street and was not the traffic hazard it was 5 years ago. The history of memorials at this site is a story in and of itself.

There was an interesting portable sign as you drove down West Florissant from Lucas-Hunt. (Check a map to get an idea of the lay of the land.) The sign notified drivers to be aware of the possibility of increased foot traffic on West Florissant this weekend. Apparently, the police are attempting to make citizens aware that something could happen. I’ve also noticed an uptick in St. Louis County Police vehicles.

Florissant Road was clean and the only indicator that anything had happened was the bicycle barricades up at the police station entrance. No trash, no destruction, no bullet casings, no scent of leftover intoxicants. There were no helicopters overhead last night and the noise from the useful idiots wasn’t audible more than a block or so away. There were just a handful of residences and a few drivers that were impacted by their efforts at disruption last night.

Things are going pretty well so far, we’ll see how the weekend progresses.

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