The Ferguson Police Department (FPD) is a law enforcement agency serving Ferguson, Missouri.
Occupy The Rose Parade (OTRP) was a four phase Occupy demonstration and protest by approximately 10,000 Occupy Movement activists that was held on January 1 and January 2, 2012 as part of the Occupy movement at the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California held on January 2, 2012. The main organizer of the 2012 OTRP, Pete Thottam, is a Los Angeles based Occupy volunteer, attorney and longtime antiwar activist. Phase 1 of the demonstration was on Sunday, January 1. It was organized by a separate group from the Occupy Pasadena group protesting locally, with no affiliation or endorsement between the two although a number of members of Occupy Pasadena actively participated in and helped organize the Occupy The Rose Parade demonstration. Rose Parade and Pasadena officials authorized the Occupy the Rose Parade movement to march at the end of the parade, after all the floats have passed and the phalanx of police cars moves through, but while the crowd is still in place.
On August 9, 2014, 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis.
The Ferguson unrest was a series of protests and riots which began in Ferguson, Missouri on August 10, 2014, the day after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by FPD officer Darren Wilson. The unrest sparked a vigorous debate in the United States about the relationship between law enforcement officers and Black Americans, the militarization of police, and the use-of-force law in Missouri and nationwide. Continuing activism expanded the issues by including modern-day debtors prisons, for-profit policing, and school segregation.
Hands Up United is a social justice activist organization based in Ferguson, Missouri, formed after the fatal shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer. The organization seeks justice in the Michael Brown case and prevention of future incidents nationwide as well as more accountability for police and improving transparency in police and justice departments across the United States. It also offers web technology training workshops to address issues related to the digital divide and economic equality.
Organization for Black Struggle is a St. Louis, Missouri-based activist organization founded in 1980. The organization seeks "political empowerment, economic justice and the cultural dignity of the African-American community, especially the Black working class." Organization for Black Struggle gained national attention when it joined with other organizations to publicly seek justice in the shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer on 2014.
"Hands up, don't shoot", sometimes shortened to "hands up", is a slogan and gesture that originated after the August 9, 2014, police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and then adopted at protests against police brutality elsewhere in the United States. The slogan implies one has their hands in the air, a common sign of submission, and is therefore not a threat to an approaching police officer. Witness reports from the Brown shooting are conflicted as to what Brown was doing with his hands when he was shot. One witness claimed Brown had his hands in the air before being killed, which was the basis for the slogan.
Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment (MORE) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan and social justice activist organization based in St. Louis, Missouri focused on improving economic equality for citizens of Missouri. The organization partners with a number of activist networks in the United States including New Economy Coalition, Rising Tide North America, and others.
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people and to promote anti-racism. Its primary concerns are police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. The movement began in response to the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Rekia Boyd, among others. BLM and its related organizations typically advocate for various policy changes related to black liberation and criminal justice reform. While there are specific organizations that label themselves "Black Lives Matter", such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network Foundation, the overall movement is a decentralized network with no formal hierarchy. As of 2021, there are about 40 chapters in the United States and Canada. The slogan "Black Lives Matter" itself has not been trademarked by any group.
In the wake of civil unrest and protests in Ferguson, Missouri, Professor Marcia Chatelain of Georgetown University created the #FergusonSyllabus Twitter campaign. Ferguson syllabus provides a space for educators to discuss integrating the events that happened in Ferguson into classrooms.
DeRay Mckesson is an American civil rights activist, podcaster, and former school administrator. An early supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, he has been active in the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland and on social media outlets such as Twitter and Instagram. He has also written for HuffPost and The Guardian. Along with Johnetta Elzie, Brittany Packnett, and Samuel Sinyangwe, Mckesson launched Campaign Zero, a policy platform to end police violence. He is currently part of Crooked Media and hosts Pod Save the People.
Johnetta "Netta" Elzie is an American civil rights activist. She is one of the leaders in the activist group We The Protesters and co-edits the Ferguson protest newsletter This Is the Movement with fellow activist DeRay Mckesson.
Kareem Jackson, known by his stage name Tef Poe, is an American rapper, musician and activist.
Darren Seals Jr. was an American racial justice, anti-police brutality, and anti-gun violence activist from Ferguson, Missouri who worked on the assembly line at General Motors. In September 2016, he was found shot dead in a burning car. St. Louis County Police are investigating his death as a homicide; they have not publicly identified suspects or motives.
Brittany N. Packnett Cunningham is an American activist and the co-founder of Campaign Zero. She served as executive director for Teach for America in St. Louis, Missouri, then as a member of President Barack Obama's Task Force on 21st Century Policing.
Lamont Lilly is an American writer, political activist, and community organizer based in Durham, North Carolina. He is also a former vice-presidential candidate with the Workers World Party in the 2016 presidential election.
The 2014 Oakland riots were a series of riots and civil disturbances that took place in Oakland, California and surrounding areas in November and December 2014. On November 24, 2014, following the decision of a Grand Jury in St. Louis to not charge Darren Wilson in the shooting death of black teenager Michael Brown, protests and rioting broke out in Oakland and later spread to other Bay Area cities. For more than two weeks, the Bay Area was the site of civil unrest as protesters clashed with police and damaged public and private property.
Millennial Activists United (MAU) is social justice organization in the U.S., based in Ferguson Missouri. The group works to end racism as well as police brutality in the United States.
The George Floyd protests were a series of riots and demonstrations against police brutality that began in Minneapolis in the United States on May 26, 2020. The protests and civil unrest began in Minneapolis as reactions to the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old unarmed African American man, by city police during an arrest. They spread nationally and internationally. Veteran officer Derek Chauvin was recorded as kneeling on Floyd's neck for 9 minutes and 29 seconds; Floyd complained of not being able to breathe, but three other officers looked on and prevented passers-by from intervening. Chauvin and the other three officers involved were later arrested. In April 2021, Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree murder, third-degree murder, and second-degree manslaughter. In June 2021, Chauvin was sentenced to 22+1⁄2 years in prison.
Traci D. Blackmon is an African American minister who was the Associate General Minister of Justice and Local Church Ministries for the United Church of Christ. She resigned her position on December 14,2023. She resigned after a period of sabbatical citing that her vision and the vision of UCC Leadership no longer aligned. She is the former senior pastor of Christ the King United Church of Christ, Florissant, Missouri and was the, 2023 leading voice of frontline spiritual leaders influential in leading prayer vigils and engaging in peaceful protests during the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri after the murder of Michael Brown in 2014.
