Holder pledges to reduce racial profiling by federal police

Published 4:05 pm, Monday, December 1, 2014

ST. LOUIS - Five St. Louis Rams players entered the football field with their hands raised. A day later, people walked out of work or school showing the same gesture of solidarity with Ferguson protesters.

The pose has come to symbolize a movement, even though witnesses offered conflicting accounts of whether 18-year-old Michael Brown had his hands up in surrender when he was killed by Ferguson officer Darren Wilson in August.

The power of the symbol was evident again Monday. Protesters across the country walked off the job or away from class in support of the Ferguson protesters. Walkouts took place in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and elsewhere.

At the University of Missouri-St. Louis, not far from Ferguson, sophomore Amber Whitaker was among about 30 students who chanted 'Hands up. Don't shoot!'

Whitaker, who is white, said the symbolism is what matters, not whether Brown literally had his hands in the air.

'There are black men and women who are shot with their hands up,' Whitaker said. 'There are black men and women who are shot unarmed. It may not apply exactly to Mike Brown, but it still happens.'

The exact circumstances surrounding Brown's death will forever be in dispute. Wilson, who is white, shot and killed Brown, who was black and unarmed, on Aug. 9. A grand jury's decision last week not to indict Wilson set off renewed protests, some of which turned violent.

Wilson told the grand jury that he shot Brown in self-defense. But several witnesses said Brown had his hands up in surrender. Within hours, 'Hands Up. Don't Shoot!' became the rallying cry for protesters.

Also Monday, the Ferguson Commission appointed by Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon met for the first time. The 16-person panel will study the underlying social and economic conditions - from failing schools to high unemployment- that have gained attention since Brown's death. About 80 residents attended the group's first session.

The panel includes a Ferguson construction-supply company owner, two pastors, a university professor, a community activist and a St. Louis police detective who is also president of the state chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.