Possible Headlines: Protesters Around the Country in an Uproar after Decision in Ferguson; Ferguson Protesters around the Country; Countrywide Protests for Ferguson
When the grand jury released its decision electing not to indict Officer Darren Wilson for the shooting of Michael Brown, chaos erupted in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, according to cnn.com. Following the chaos, people throughout the nation protested.
Within Ferguson, protesters did not stay peaceful for long. Businesses on West Florissant Avenue were set on fire on November 24 when the decision was announced. A nearby car lot joined the blaze, and vehicles and police cars set alight. According to cnn.com, the number of fires exceeded the ability of firefighters to reach them all.
Ferguson was not the only city full of people unhappy about the decision. Protests popped up across the United States, as well as demonstrations in England. From what can be seen of the many protests on cnn’s iReport of the event, where participants can post firsthand accounts and share stories of the protests in their areas, the vast majority are peaceful protests.
ABC News showed another protest, a nationwide walkout that took place on Monday. At 12:01 p.m., the same time Brown was shot, people across the United States put their hands up and walked out of work and school peacefully. The movement was largely organized over social media, #HandsUpWalkOut.
Several Rams football players also put their hands up to walk out of the tunnel at a game on Sunday, according to USA Today. They reported that although St. Louis police wanted the “inflammatory” actions condemned, on Monday the NFL released a statement that they would not discipline the players.
The head coach of the team was in agreement, telling USA Today that he was not a politician or an activist, but a football coach. USA Today also reported that the players did what they did to try to inspire more peaceful forms of protest than the initial violence that took place in Ferguson and other scattered incidents in the United States.
As protests continue across the nation, cnn.org reports that Michael Brown’s family asks that protests be kept peaceful, rather than allowing their son’s death inspire more violence.