11/25/14 11/25/14 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from ferguson and clayton, missouri, this is democracy now! >> after the exhaustive review of the evidence, the grand jury deliberated over two days, making a final decision. they determined no probable cause exists to file any charges against officer wilson and return a no true bill in each of the five indictments. >> no indictment. a grand jury clears officer darren wilson for shooting dead michael brown, an unarmed black teenager. ferguson erupts. lives don't matter to

these cops. at the end of the day. we be locked up more than anybody in this own community. know what i'm saying apc? [indiscernible] everybody on this police force needs to get fired. >> from the courthouse to the streets, all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a grand jury here in st. louis, missouri has chosen not to indict police officer darren wilson for the fatal shooting of unarmed african-american teenager michael brown. the decision follows three months of deliberation by the jury of nine whites, and three blacks, including fouhours of

testimony from wilson himself. the decision set off outrage. the grand jury decision set off outrage in ferguson and communities across the country who see brown's killing as part of a widescale pattern of police mistreatment of people of color. shortly after the verdict, police fired tear gas on protesters in ferguson. at least a dozen buildings in ferguson or broken into and burned. there was sporadic gunfire overnight. at least 61 people were arrested. we will have more from on the ground in ferguson and clayton after the headlines. back in washington, d.c., defense secretary chuck hagel has been forced to resign under pressure from president obama less than two years after taking office. obama announced hagel's departure on monday. >> last month, check came to discuss the final quarter of my presidency and determined having guided the department through this transition, it was an

appropriate time for him to complete his service. is me just say that chuck and has been a great friend of mine. i have known him, admired him, and trusted him for nearly a decade since i was agreeing behind the years freshman behind thegreen years freshman senator and we were both on the senate foreign relations committee. the announcement comes just weeks after a spokesperson for hagel said he intended to remain in his post until the end of obama's presidency. hagel had criticized the obama administration's war in the islamic state in iraq and syria, writing in a leaked memo last month the president's policy could implode over a lack of clarity on syrian president bashar al-assad. post untilkeep this the senate confirms his successor. topping the list of contenders is show floor in a, -- michele flournoy.

she would be the first woman to lead the u.s. military. a new report finds u.s. drone strikes kill 28 unidentified people for every intended target. while the obama administration has claimed its drone strikes are precise, the group reprieve found that strikes in yemen and pakistan which targeted 41 individuals ended up killing more than 1,000 others. the 41 targets for -- were reported killed as many as six times each. in its attempts to kill al-qaeda leader ayman al zawahiri alone, the cia killed 76 children and 29 adults. al zawahiri remains alive. secretary of state john kerry has announced talks over iran's disputed nuclear program have been extended for seven months after world powers failed to meet a self-imposed deadline for a deal. a long-term agreement would allow iranian uranium enrichment

and relief from crippling u.s.-led sanctions in return for extensive international inspections. kerry said the talks have been "tough." >> these talks aren't going to suddenly get easier just because we extend them. they are tough and they have been tough and will stay tough. but in these last days in vienna , we have made real and substantial progress and we have seen new ideas surface. >> talks are expected to resume next month. in hong kong, authorities have arrested more than 30 pro-democracy protesters as they moved to clear a key protest site in the district of mong kok. the authorities took action in response to a court order to clear argyle street, a main thoroughfare which protesters had shut down for two months as part of their campaign for free elections. in mexico, 11 young people

arrested during last week's mass protest over the disappearance of 43 students have been moved to maximum security prisons in different states. authorities made the arrests last week after tens of thousands gathered in mexico city's main square to protest the students' disappearance at the hands of police in collusion with a drug gang. the detainees face charges of attempted murder and riot. supporters say the arrests mark an uptick in repression by mexican authorities responding to the nationwide unrest. ona march in mexico city saturday, ana cruz olguin said her daughter, hillary analí gonzález, was detained arbitrarily and sent to a prison in the state of nayarit. >> i am appalled by what has happened. i don't want any other parent to experience what i am with my daughter. i hope that no other karen has to cry for their children as i do. i hope that none of this repeats.

i demand they free my daughter. she's a good student. she's a good girl. she has never attacked anyone. >> in florida, an african-american woman facing decades in prison for firing what she says was a warning shot into a wall near her abusive husband has taken a plea deal. marissa alexander's case generated national outrage after she was sentenced to 20 years in prison, even though she didn't kill anyone, while, in another florida case, george zimmerman was acquitted of shooting african-american teenager trayvon martin dead. alexander's attorneys unsuccessfully tried to use florida's stand your ground law in her defense, saying she feared for her life when she fired the shot. after an appeals court ordered a new trial for over faulty jury instructions, florida prosecutors sought a 60-year term, three times her original sentence. on monday, alexander took a plea deal to serve three years, a sentence she has nearly completed. she is due to be released on january 27.

in britain, a group of journalists are suing london's metropolitan police after obtaining surveillance records that show they were spied on for years. one of the journalists, jason parkinson, said police collected details about his clothing, his partner, and which protests he was covering. venues in washington state and connecticut have become the latest to cancel appearances by comedian bill cosby amidst a growing scandal over reports cosby drugged and raped women over a period of four decades. at least 18 women have now accused cosby of sexual assault, including former model jewel allison, who told the new york daily news -- "we may be looking at america's greatest serial rapist that ever got away with this for the longest amount of time." >> why this case now yeah, i think it is holding a lot of weight because we're having a

series of women finally, thank god, coming out and saying this happened to me, this happened to me, this happened to me, too. even if you blacked out or you don't remember the entire rape or the entire assault, there is strength in numbers. >> a former nbc employee, frank scotti, told the daily news he acted as a fixer for cosby, guarding his dressing room while he was inside with young models, and helping cosby pay off eight women. reports have also focused on the media's role, since claims against cosby surfaced years ago. robin mizrahi, a former reporter for the national enquirer tabloid told the guardian she filed a story in 2005 about a woman who accused cosby of drugging and assaulting her. but under pressure from cosby's attorneys, her editors killed the story in exchange for a

favorable, front-page interview with cosby. state university students across california have staged a mass campus walkout as part of ongoing protests over tuition hikes. at uc berkeley, students have occupied wheeler hall since last week when the uc board of regents approved plans to raise tuition by up to 5% annually over the next five years. students have occupied other buildings across the uc system, from santa cruz to san diego. and president obama has awarded the presidential medal of freedom to 18 people, including three civil rights activists murdered by the ku klux klan 50 years ago. james chaney, andrew goodman and mickey schwerner were targeted by the klan after traveling to mississippi to register black voters. in a white house ceremony, obama noted it took more than four decades to bring the organizer

of the murders, edgar ray killen, to justice. >> in that freedom summer, these three americans refuse to sit on the sidelines. their brutal murder by gang of ku klux klan members shook the conscience of our nation. it took 44 days to find their bodies. 41 years to bring the lead perpetrator to justice. and while they're often remembered for how they died, we honor them today for how they lived. with idealism and the courage of youth. >> the presidential medal of freedom is the nation's highest civilian honor. other recipients monday included actress meryl streep, musician stevie wonder, actress and activist marlo thomas, native american activist suzan harjo, and chilean novelist isabel allende. and those are the headlines, this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

we're broadcasting from just outside the clayton county courthouse in st. louis, missouri where on a grand jury monday voted not to indict officer darren wilson for the killing of unarmed african-american teenager michael brown. after three months of deliberation that included testimony from wilson himself, the jury of nine whites and three blacks decided that he should not be tried for any of the criminal charges he faced. not first-degree murder, not second-degree murder, and not voluntary or involuntary manslaughter. many are questing the timing of the release of the grand jury decision, which came late at night instead of in broad daylight. soon after the grand jury decision was red, police fired tear gas at protesters in ferguson. set offd jury decision

outrage not only throughout st. louis, but across the country who see brown's killing as part of a wide-scale pattern of police mistreatment of people of color. here in ferguson, at least a dozen stores were broken into and burned. a number of businesses burned for hours before firefighters arrived. sporadic gunfire was heard throughout the night in the ferguson streets. police arrested at least 61 people. a large crowd gathered outside the ferguson police department as the grand jury's decision was announced. the crowd included michael brown's mother, lesley mcspadden, who broke into tears after hearing wilson would walk free. in a statement, the brown family said -- "we are profoundly disappointed that the killer of our child will not face the consequence of his actions." the statement continues -- "while we understand that many others share our pain, we ask

that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change." the family has asked for support of the michael brown law, which would ensure police officers wear body cameras. st. louis county prosecutor bob mcculloch announced the grand jury's decision here at the clayton county courthouse monday night. mcculloch said jurors had found "that no probable cause exists" to charge officer wilson with any crime. >> the duty of the grand jury is to separate fact from fiction. after a full and impartial and critical examination of all the evidence in the law and decide that evidence supported the filing of any criminal charges against darren wilson. they accepted and completed as monumental responsibility and conscientious and expeditious manner. it is important to note here that and say again that they are the only people, the only people

who have heard and examined every witness and every piece of evidence. they discussed and debated the evidence among themselves before arriving at their collective decision. after their exhaustive review of the evidence, the grand jury deliberated over two days, making a final decision. they determined that no probable cause exists to file any charges against officer wilson and returned a no true bill on each of the five indictments. >> bob mcculloch himself faced public scrutiny throughout the grand jury investigation, with calls for him to resign over allegations of a pro-police bias and questions raised about an unusual grand jury process that resembled a trial. mcculloch bristled when a reporter asked what message the grand jury's decision had sent. the question by many members

of the community with cases that have happened in the past, so county you feel making -- announcing this decision and what message do you think it sends to the community that says that they have had numerous members of their community, young, predominantly black males killed by police with impunity, what can a message do you think this decision says to them? >> a much better message than what you are sending, that young men being killed with impunity. they are not being killed with impunity. we look at every case that comes through, whether they are young black and or white men. >> i think people looking at this from around the country will be struck by there is not a single long the state of missouri that protects and values the life of this young man who unquestionably was shot and killed dead. no dispute about that by the police officer. what do you say to people who wonder, is there something wrong with the laws here that allows this to happen? that after this happen says, we

just move on, essentially, and this is justice? is this really justice worse or something wrong with the laws in the state that would -- question that,r really, i don't have an answer to that question. what is wrong with the law. there are no laws to protect us. every law out there is to protect the safety of every individual regardless of their age and regardless of their race. if those laws are not working, then we need to work -- >> shortly after the grand jury's decision was announced, president obama spoke in a nationally televised address and urged protesters to stay peaceful and police to exercise restraint. >> we need to recognize that this is not just an issue for ferguson. this is an issue for america. progressade enormous in race relations over the horse of the past several decades -- past several

decades. i have witnessed that in my own life. and to deny that progress, i think, is to deny america's capacity for change. thathat is also true is there are still problems and communities of color aren't just making these problems up. >> there you've got the voices of officialdom. now for the voices from the streets. democracy now! was on the ground in ferguson monday night as protesters were met by walls of police officers, many in riot gear and heavily armed.erty dame was worst on west florissant, a strip of largely black-run businesses. the national guard, heavily touted by the governor? we didn't see them there. we did see a heavy police presence just blocks away on south florissant, home to the ferguson police department headquarters. and that's where we began. we're here on south florissant.

down the road are fires. cars are on fire. we're following a group of protesters right now. the police in riot gear. trooperslso seen state moving in. we are going to follow the protesters who are walking down the street. >> move back! move back! talking to the police. there shouting "move back!" >> move back! move back! move back! >> get out of the street! >> where do we go? >> move back! we coulde told peacefully assemble here, and we did. and the officer is still being aggressive. they're not bothering anyone. can they stand here? we were told they could peacefully assemble.

they are here. they are here. we have a right to peacefully assemble. >> you are breaking the law. >> for the street is blocked off, isn't it? >> yes, ma'am, it is. >> i'm very disturbed with the police presence out your. people got maced and teargassed. this is ridiculous to me. this, unfortunately, is what my city has turned into. talks can you talk about the grand jury decision not to indict officer wilson? >> it is the reason that everyone has a problem the fact that officer wilson wasn't indicted. he killed an unarmed black teenager. there is no excuse for that. the reason we are all out here because nobody gets answers. nobody has had an answer since this has all happened. that is a problem for us. we want answers, essentially.

it seems the only way you can get away with murder is if you have a badge. >> what will you be doing beyond tonight? >> i'm going to continue to protest and make sure our voices are heard. just because he wasn't indicted doesn't mean the people of ferguson or florissant is running areas will rest. if we have to come up everything will not and protest and protest to make sure that it is down is this a problem with the black community, we will. i have no problem coming up everson i to protest. >> how do think things could change? >> after all they had to do was indict him and things good and peaceful. up to the point where they said they don't care and he didn't do anything wrong. all they had to do was admit right thatrong and by arresting him and things would calm down, least a little bit. >> at the end of the day, black lives don't matter to them. at the end of the day, black lives don't matter to these cops. at the end of the day.

we be locked at more than anybody in this whole committee. you know what i'm saying? get charged for a quick. everything. we get false things put on us and everything. these cops is grimy. everybody on his police force needs to get fired including the captain on the way down to whoever. everybody got a get fired. rubber bullets onto women and children. peaceful protest. come on, now. lack lives don't matter. black lives don't matter. it's the truth. black lives don't matter, y'all. >> we going to show you all how we feel. >> trash get picked up quicker than that. come on, now. come on, now. that is disrespectful. that is disrespect. >> we don't get it, shut it down. >> this is disrespectful.

>> were you protesting in august? >> of course, of course. i seen people get shot with rubber bullets. i'm black. black lives don't matter. , peopleve been tased have been beaten. that is what happened the first day. that is how the writing started the first day. a little boy got bit by a dog. >> they firing onto their own citizens. the so-calledo citizens. that is how they look at is, so-called citizens. wilson.000 for darren for what? what is he going to do with $400,000 now? he just got a paycheck for killing someone. that is a nice paycheck -- for killing somebody. >> for killing a kid. >> yes, for killing a kid.

>> do you think it is possible the federal government will bring civil rights charges -- >> no. >> i'm with the united church of christ national youth office. i am here to keep the peace, but also mostly to support and stand with these and people who have a right to peacefully assemble and to express themselves. i feel like they have a right as a natural reaction to be angry and to be heard in response to such suffering and pain. for so long, they've been told to be quiet, to be silent, and just to conform. now they have an opportunity to express themselves. for many of us, we're not used to hearing the sound people articulate themselves in this way, but this is their street, their home and have a right to be here and have a right to say, you know what? one of our brothers was murdered and killed and we are responding to that pain. societysometimes in a we're not used to, especially,

hearing young people of color speak so firmly and strongly out their rights. >> what is your response to the grand jury decision not to indict officer wilson? >> i'm hurt by it. i wonder myself, to see what evidence was presented to them, to see if they had an opportunity to make a fair and balanced decision. it is hard to really say because we don't know what was put before them. but i do think it is important take a look at this system to see if it is actually working. is democracy actually taking place. when you're a young person who dies and with all the evidence that we have been presented to show that he was unarmed and not a danger or a threat, why is it that they chose not to take this case to trial or to have an indictment? what troubling to know message is being sent out here to these young people is their limestone matter. -- their lives don't matter. their position, i don't have nothing to lose because i could

just die on the street walking home. >> can you describe the police to meet your out here tonight? >> i do feel the demeanor is quite aggressive. i think we were told that young people have a right to peacefully assemble. we were told we have a right to come here and express themselves. and every thing they were promised is being denied. everything they have asked them to do, they have complied. if they asked to move back, they move back. if the estimate of the sidewalk, they moved to the sidewalk. they're trying to push them out and silence them. if you have young people who are unarmed, dressed in winter clothing with militarized weapons and tear gas and all of this gear and guns and whatnot, it is intimidating and aggressive. how do you expect people to respond, specially after an announcement like that? >> as we walk back behind the police cars and the riot police, there are several buses the same as earth department of correction, -- missouri

department of correction. waiting to be filled. >> i'm 19. i'm standing in front of the corner coffeehouse. it was broken into. glass everywhere. ,hey broke in the beauty supply into t-mobile, burned down a walgreens, the fish place on the corner, burned down a little caesars. they broke into that bank. >> who is they? >> just the people out here rioting. >> how do you feel about the grand jury decision not to indict officer wilson? sad.at is that is sad to see, like, they're finally going to that. they're not showing no type of mercy. they tried to charge them on five charges and they did not indict him on one of them. >> whitey think that is? -- why do you think that is? >> people protect their own.

that's true. people will protect their own. >> have you ever been bothered by the police? >> yes. >> have you ever been arrested? >> yes. >> what happened then? >> one time when i was arrested, i got punched in my mouth -- >> by? >> sergeant dewight. >> were he to bring charges against him? >> no. >> we're standing in front of taco bell. the window has been smashed. we are in front of autozone in it looks like it is about to blow with flames coming out on top of it. across the street is a tire shop , auto tire. there are a bunch of young people going in there. they smashed the windows. a lot of cars going by.

a lot of smoke. it very much feels like ground zero. young people are saying they don't care about us. this is west florissant, ground zero for the protests. this is ferguson, missouri. i've been all over st. louis. i just came from where they just announced the verdict at home .nd a shot tear gas everything on fire. this is not what our youngsters were supposed to represent, civile this is a new era rights movement. i didn't expect all of them, but i can't blame for it. civil disobedience, cousin ain't nobody -- just reckless. they been over here so -- i'm 43 years of age. all of these over here, they are ready got their insurance and

they had three months to prepare for this. so they're not losing out on anything. they probably relocate. but as farce the money value or the monetary value, everything is still going to be the same. >> we're back on can feel dry. there are some helicopters and smoke in the air because west florissant is on fire. but here is the stuffed animal memorial for mike brown who was gunned down right here in the road between the apartment complexes. there are dozens of animals, stuffed animals, baseball cap -- it might be mike rounds original baseball cap. this is the place on august 9 officer darren wilson killed michael brown. today, grand jury decided not to indict officer wilson for the killing. >> after they played us like that with aaron wilson, i expect

-- darren wilson, i expect it is what it is. no justice, no peace. >> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i am amy goodman with special thanks to our crew here on the ground. that report after midnight last night. today, we're standing in front of the clayton courthouse where the grand jury has celebrated over the last months. they call it the justice center. when we come back, we will be joined by guest who been here on the streets as well as a legal expert to talk about exactly what the grand jury did or did not decide. this is democracy now! we will be back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. clayton, missouri, right next to ferguson, missouri, were we spent all last night. today we're standing in front of -- well, the clayton courthouse with a grand jury has deliberated close to two dozen .imes over the last few months before renée came out with a decision yesterday, now's by the prosecutor bob mcculloch. in new york, we're joined by vince warren, the exec director of the center for constitutional rights who will help us decide or understand the decision that the grand jury made. and with me here in subfreezing osagyefon clayton is sekou, pastor from the first baptist church in jamaica plain

massachusetts who was dispatched to ferguson by the fellowship of reconciliation. he went to high school in st. louis and has family in ferguson. we're going to go first to vince warren. can you explain the grand jury decision? >> good to see you. it is a must and exportable. the first thing we have to remember is this is not a verdict. this was an indictment. the grand jury was asked to consider evidence in order to prefer charges so that the police officer could go to trial, but they did not do that. what was so strange about it is that i've never seen in my years of prosecutor take such a hands-off approach. to listen to the press conference, you would think that he sort of spread out the pieces of paper on the table and said, grand jury, do your thing. prosecutors never do that. there's a reason why they say prosecutors can indict a ham sandwich.

they can entirely control that process. of thed release some transcript yesterday. i took a look at some of them. what i saw is that this wasn't just the grand jurors listening to the testimony i believe. the prosecutors are framing the evidence. as you heard in a press conference yesterday, there was more talk about what mike brown did then there was about what darren wilson did. was all most as if the grand jury process looking to charge darren wilson, that they were really charging mike brown. i also noticed in some of the transcripts that they were prosecutors- the were setting up a sense of fear, even asking the police sergeant, leading them into the testimony to say, yeah, people were agitated, people were upset, people were moving around. of course people were agitated because mike rounds body was on the ground. at their setting this up so that essentially to play into the defense of darren wilson, that

he acted reasonably out of fear for his life and acted reasonably and pursuant to the law because he thought mike brown was breaking the law. we have a grand jury system that for most people in the world seems to play out like it was, gosh, what can we do, the evidence was really overwhelming. but i don't think the evidence was. you only have one set of that story. unfortunately, in this process, might brown's side of the story never gets told. what we do know is the prosecutors were setting this up so it was in the best light, in my view, from what i've seen, the best light for the police officer and his "reasonable believe" that his life was in danger, so that is why he shot. i don't think we can take away anything from this decision not to indict other than it is now officially open season on black folks when it comes to police violence. that feeling that most of us had

yesterday when we were listening to the decision, that feeling in your stomach, that unsettling feeling like there's nothing we can do -- that is what injustice feels like. we have to remember the folks on the ground feel that same way but they felt this for a long time. this is not a media event, this is life for people in the black unity in urban areas for people in ferguson. people are upset. people are acting out. people are disrupting the status quo and want to shut it down. frankly, i think they should. we should be thinking about the folks in ferguson's pro-democracy protesters, as anti-structural racism protesters. when you think about what they're challenging on that big a scale, we know a grand jury decision one way or another is not when a solve the structural racism problem. was sauce that problem is getting to people like bob mcculloch so he can to the things that he did in a press conference. washe one hand he said this

a justified shooting by the police officer but on the other hand had, but we have to change the system. those are completely inconsistent. it makes no sense legally and certainly makes no sense politically. what we have with the the national lawyers guild and others have organized 300 lawyers to come down to be able to help represent the protesters because this is what our democracy looks like. let's not think about this as these people are burning folks year and throwing rocks year, that entire picture you're looking at that you are involved in, that is the state, the representation of the state of our democracy for black folks in america. it is messy, can be ugly, and full of passion but people should not turn away from it. people should not try to tampa down and control it. that is what we are dealing with, that is where we are as a society, then we need to think about structural changes in

order to change the status quo. , the st. louis county prosecutor's office has released darren wilson's testimony to the grand jury showing the officer described the 18-year-old michael brown as oking like ademon" oth day of the shootin ls said -- "and when i grabbed him, the only way i can describe it is i felt like a five-year-old holding onto hulk hogan." wilson went on to claim that brown punched him twice and was concerned the third punch could be fatal or knock him unconscious. he defended his decision to shoot brown multiple times. wilson said -- "at this point it looked like he was almost bulking up to run through the shots, like it was making him mad that i'm shooting at him." in addition to the testimony, the prosecutors released images of darren wilson in the hospital after the altercation. one of his cheeks was red, but not heavily bruised.

here we have darren wilson, four hours of testimony, mike brown was not there to give his side of the story. >> that's right, amy. it is important to recognize that at this moment, we have to become clear as a society that police officers can commit crimes even while on duty. and police officers can and do lie particularly in these types of legal proceedings. -- i was looking through some of the sergeant testimony and when he first , when to darren wilson the sergeant got to the scene, he talked about what happened but he did not write it down. the reason why he said he did not write it down as who is multitasking. that kind of evidence collection becomes critical important because if you don't have it, gives the police officer the opportunity to change his story, to present the facts in a light

that is more favorable to him. and you can's early do that in a criminal trial when you're the defendant. the police officers have two duties. one, preserve the evidence in order for people to find out what happened but it sounds to me like during wilson was afforded the opportunity to create an evidentiary area near to. this is not unique to ferguson. it happens all over the country. ask any defense attorney about this and they will tell you the way this went down with the prosecutor's office, with the police department was so shady, that you can't have any confidence whatsoever that the story that darren wilson told is in fact what happened. , thank you for being with us. stay with us. we're going to go to break and we will be joined by reverend ,sagyefo sekou here in ferguson

though, usually in massachusetts, he's been here for months organizing on the ground. we will loss of be joined by jelani cobb, professor at university of connecticut, writes for the new yorker, has been writing extensively about ferguson. we were with him last night on the streets of ferguson. ferguson has erupted. we will be back in a minute. ♪ [music break]

>> this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman.

we are broadcasting from st. louis, missouri, from clayton and ferguson. and despite the subfreezing weather here, ferguson is on fire. our guest are reverend osagyefo sekou, pastor from the first baptist church in jamaica plain , massachusetts who was dispatched to ferguson by the fellowship of reconciliation. he went to high school in st. louis and has family in ferguson. and jelani cobb is associate professor of history and director of the africana studies institute at the university of connecticut. he is also a contributor to the new yorker. reverend, let's begin with you. described the scene of the streets. and we're finished here, these protests are not finished. you're headed to yet another protest right behind us. we are standing in front of the clayton courthouse where the grand jury deliberated over the last months. the clayton courthouse is called the justice center. >> well, it seems the case the name of the center is inappropriate given the high level of repression and

undemocratic engagement by the prosecutor, the governor. these young people have been betrayed i every level of government -- by every level of government. democracy was on fire last night. the constitution shredded. and young people who have been backed into a corner, abused by the police system for many years -- as you mentioned earlier, i went to high school here. i remember being told by my mother and sister not to go to ferguson. i remember police sticking their hands in our underwear and accusing us of being drug dealers when we were just some preppy kids with argyle socks attempting to go on dates. seen today, last night, is a reflection of the kind of few options and people feel like they have to express the democratic rights at this moment. talk about what birds and what didn't. we were on south florissant.

the riot police were lined up. there were armored vehicles, automatic weapons. they were really taking on the protesters. but when we went to west florissant where the buildings are, the businesses -- namely there wasbusinesses, no national guard inside. when we were here months ago, when we were here months ago on west florissant, you cannot even make a turn there. they completely sealed off the area. but last night, to our shock, we drove unimpeded right down west florissant. people were breaking windows. they were setting the buildings on fire. this is black ferguson that was left by the national guard, is that right? >> yes. i was there for some two hours and witnessed first-hand the lack of response by the fire department, the casual nature in

which the way the police engaged. they eventually shot tear gas. but what we are seeing now is this was a primary example of the racial divide in ferguson, in st. louis, and the nation. because this story has always been about mike around and bigger than michael brown. every other day in america, some black or brown child is subject to the arbitrary violence with little to no recourse that every other day in america, a mother is writing a funeral program that would perhaps be the lg of the democracy. >> jelani cobb, i saw you on south florissant, where the ferguson police -- the newly rebuilt ferguson police department is. describe the scene and what you saw. >> initially, there was a crowd that gathered. people were silently hoping against hope that there would be an indictment. and there was none. people were hearing the

long-winded and insulting statement the prosecutor bob mcculloch gave before announcing would be no indictment. then you begin to see tensions ratcheting up. it as that happened, there was kind of a news structure that the police enacted. they were kind of on the north side of the street. in short order, he saw armored vehicles and a very significant number of police marching weapons -- some had weapons drawn. there were tear gas canisters that began to be fired. they had people hemmed in, in essence, on south florissant. >> on west florissant, it was shocking to see the lack of police presence there. we heard from governor jay nixon pressl as last week at a conference that the mayor of st. louis gave, and they use the word "restraint." they said the police would be restrained in the response.

it seemed as if somehow they got in a message, perhaps, that people wanted to be treated like human beings. then we saw what restraint looked like last night. restraint was a kind of nonchalant approach to what was happening on the black side of town with a hypervigilant approach to what was happening on the white side of town. read a quote of dr. martin luther king. this was three weeks before he was assassinated. march 14, 1968. he said, "it's not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. it would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without at the same time condemning the contingent and intolerable conditions that exist in our society. these conditions are things that cause individuals to feel that no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention."

that is dr. martin luther king three weeks before he was assassinated in memphis, tennessee, april 4, 1968. reverend? >> it is quite relevant for this moment, the reality that these people face. we hear it all the time for our 100 days, them saying, i'm ready to die because i don't have anything to live for. school systems have betrayed them. the president has betrayed them. eric holder has betrayed them. governor nixon has betrayed. them. cheap jackson has betrayed them the electoral system has betrayed them. no economic opportunity, decrepit school systems. on top of that, to see their brother, their son late in the street for 4.5 hours and have isnd upon wound that there situation where the destruction of poverty scenes feel the way they can vent their rage because they have been given no recourses. while the president calls for

calm but is not dispatched in up resources to hold dear wilson and a draconian police force accountable, we of simply betrayed them. it is a shame the nation has engaged as such. >> what about the issue, jelani charges beingghts brought against darren wilson? eric holder, the attorney -- leaving retiring his position, but he did come to ferguson. yesterday, president obama was in the white house and he honored 18 people. among them were three posthumously. the state did not bring charges theset the men who killed three civil rights workers in 1964. but in the federal government

did. >> right. there's been a conversation around this. one of the things that happen here, the narrative we have heard, we heard mayor giuliani say something along these lines, former new york mayor, say something along these lines that people are rioting, they have no respect for democracy, that they have no respect for other people's lives or property. righted andple have rebuilt last time precisely because of the opposite. because of the mechanisms of democracy have failed them. riot immediately. there was small skill skirmishes, but largely, people kind of withheld their anger in hopes the actual system of legal recourse would grant them some relief in a situation of michael brown's death. that did not happen. and failing that, people began a lastt the plan

resort. when eric holder came here last summer, he counseled people to get the legal system an opportunity to work. and last night was a reputation of that. given all their patients, they are given all their hope, even all their idealism despite what we saw with trayvon martin and john ford, john crawford, rather, in ohio, despite what we've seen with oscar grant -- all of the circumstances we can outline -- people still had faith the legal system might give them a modicum of justice. it is difficult to say there's a likelihood there will be civil rights charges now. it would be very difficult to prove this was done racially motivated or mr. brown was intentionally deprived of his civil rights. i'm not much more optimistic than the people were out on west florissant writing that the legal system will give any kind of recourse. in 2010,,000 cases

grand jury's, these federal cases, grand jury's decline to return an indictment in 11. of 162,000 federal cases. reverend, this is the first night a protest. i want to ask a question about the timing. there was a big discussion about whether the decision would be announced 48 hours later, 24 hours. in the end, they decided to announce it at night -- late at night. why? did that contribute to what happened in the street? >> i mean, it was clearly orchestrated in such a way that it created a context of provocation. summer,was during the to become evident the later it got, the hotter it got in terms of people's relationship to the police. and so is seems that way. but as we think about this reference to the civil rights movements, these sound people have been in the street for over 100 days. one third of the way ofgomery b.

with limited resources, limited support from various institutions and infrastructure. but for over 100 days, they been primarily nonviolent in their approach to this. they gave the system a chance, and the system broke their heart. many of them right now as we speak, 125 of my colleagues come are in the streets right now compared to engage in acts of civil resistance in a nonviolent tradition. there will be ongoing nonviolent protests. think about that. this is the second longest protest, i believe, brother, and 50 years of black people, calling america to account, making hers a and b honorable to the things she is placed on paper. so rather than demonizing these and people, should be celebrating. because what they're doing is stretching that living document of the constitution and creating a space for the possibility for america to be true to what she said on paper. >> can i add to this?

one of the things that we saw that was personally most inspiring here was that people community in a they said was not extensively organized. and they taught themselves rapidly how to organize. they came out in that little unforgiving relentless heat of august and protested and marched in a thunderstorm struck the first week. you saw thunder and lightning in the sky, people marching and protesting saying, black lives matter, hands up, don't shoot. we sell the weather change. we saw an early winter set in. and despite all of those obstacles, despite the aspersions from the official parts of this committee as well as from other individuals that were in some pathetic to this cause, people came out again night after night after night, and they refused to let michael

brown's death be in vain. i think that is what we should take from this. the story is not over. .he flames are oppressive this story has not ended. i think people will find some means of achieving justice in the long haul, and the people here are committed to doing whatever they need to do for as long as they need to do it to make sure that happens. >> and tonight, what are the plans? in terms of organize protests and what you understand of what else will be happening? >> there are actions happening right now as we speak throughout clayton, bearing witness to the injustice that these young people have experienced in the city and community has experienced. there will be action and people will be gathering at the plaza today at noon and subsequent action and ongoing actions every day on every hour in this place for over 100 days. people have been in the streets lined to put their bodies on the

line for risking arrest, tear gas, peppers break because they are trying to keep alive the best of the democratic tradition. >> her final thoughts? >> the only thing i can say is ferguson is america. what happened here is not atypical. this is a national problem and we all need to be mindful of it. inwe will see more fergusons the future. >> there are helicopters flying overhead. we're standing in front of what is known as the justice center were the grand jury said no indictment. they refuse to indict officer darren wilson for the killing of mike brown, an 18 year old african-american teenager august 9, 2014. that does it for our broadcast from ferguson and clayton. i want to thank our guests osagyefo sekou and jelani cobb and vince warren and special

thanks to our team. thank you for joining us. thank you for joining us.

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