Tavis Smiley on Ferguson Grand Jury Decision: ‘Black Life Matters’ (Guest Blog)
The PBS late night host pens Wrap op-ed on decision not to indict Michael Brown’s shooter, Officer Darren Wilson
Tavis SmileyGuest Writer | November 24, 2014 @ 10:00 PM
Facebook
He didn’t deserve to die.
I have heard that phrase uttered countless times since the tragic shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, on a hot summer day this past August.
Now a federal grand jury has said there will be no indictment of Officer Darren Wilson. Apparently, neither the grand jury nor the Justice Department felt that probable cause existed to bring charges against Officer Wilson for acting with malice in killing an unarmed Michael Brown.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once noted that, “Death comes to every individual. There is an amazing democracy about death. It is not aristocracy for some of the people, but a democracy for all of the people. Kings die and beggars die; rich men die and poor men die; old people die and young people die; death comes to the innocent and it comes to the guilty. Death is the irreducible common denominator of all men.”
King makes a powerful point. Sadly, young people do indeed die. But King wasn’t talking about the shooting deaths of unarmed black youth shot point-blank by officers of the law who are sworn to serve and protect them.
So, why is an 18-year-old Michael Brown dead now? Did he deserve to die, as some have essentially suggested, for his callous treatment of a convenience store owner and his alleged disrespect of a law enforcement officer?
In other words, if Michael Brown deserved to die, did he also deserve access to high quality public school instruction? Did he deserve an affordable college education? Did he deserve a living wage job and not a lifetime of minimum wage employment? Did he deserve first-rate healthcare? Did he deserve to live in a community unpolluted by toxic waste? Did he deserve to live in a city where community based policing is embraced, where the cops who work the beat by day actually live in the neighborhood by night? What else did he deserve as a citizen living in the world’s greatest democracy?
The fact that Officer Wilson won’t be indicted for killing Michael Brown doesn’t mean that a crime against humanity wasn’t committed that day. When a jury finds a defendant “not guilty” it doesn’t necessarily mean that the defendant is “innocent.” Something went terribly wrong that day, even though it couldn’t be proven in a court of law.
There is no question about who killed Michael Brown. The question we now have to wrestle with is what killed Michael Brown in Ferguson?
And 23-year-old Sean Bell in Queens. And 19-year-old Renisha McBride in Detroit. And 17 year-old Trayvon Martin in Florida. And 12-year-old Tamir E. Rice in Cleveland.
Their deaths say to us that poverty is threatening our democracy. Too many of our precious black youth are forced to surrender their life’s chances before they ever know their life’s choices.
Their deaths say to us that unless we want to see more cities aflame in the coming weeks, months and years; our demagoguery, our irresponsibility and our indifference must stop now.
Right now.
Ferguson Fallout: The Scene Following Decision Not to Indict Officer Darren Wilson (Photos)
Police officers march by a burning squad car during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Looters run out of a store in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Looters break into a business during unrest in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
A protester is surrounded by tear gas in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Firefighters try to extinguish a burning restaurant in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
A restaurant is set on fire by protesters in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Protesters kneel with their hands up in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
A row of cars is set on fire at a used car lot during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
St. Louis Co. Prosecutor Robert McCulloch announces the grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson in Clayton, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri listen to a car radio as the grand jury's decision is delivered on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Heavily armed police officers confront protesters in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
St. Louis County police officers in riot gear guard the Ferguson police department on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
A suspected looter is detained outside a Dollar Store in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Police deploy tear gas during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
CNN Reporter Sara Sidner was hit in the head with a rock while covering the Ferguson unrest on Nov. 24, 2014.
CNN
Protesters march in New York City following the grand jury decision in Missouri, Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Protesters march through the streets of New York City after learning Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson would not be charged, Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
A woman faces police officers on the Harbor Freeway (110) in Los Angeles during a protest against the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Protesters gather outside a shopping center in the Crenshaw District of Los Angeles on Nov. 24, 2014.
Twitter
Protesters in Beverly Hills block traffic at the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Rodeo Dr. in reaction to the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Protesters gather outside the White House after the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Hundreds of protesters, many of them Howard University students, gather outside the White House after the Ferguson grand jury decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
President Barack Obama calls for calm during a news conference in Washington, DC after the grand jury's decision on Nov. 24, 2014.
Getty Images
Brown family attorney Benjamin Crump speaks during a press conference about the Ferguson grand jury decision in Dellwood, Missouri on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
A worker cleans up glass at a business that was damaged during a demonstration following the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
Ferguson Mayor James W. Knowles III addresses the delayed deployment of the National Guard at a press conference in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon speaks about the widespread rioting and looting following the Ferguson grand jury decision during a news conference on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
Missouri national guardsmen line up in front of the Ferguson police station on Nov. 25, 2014, ready to be deployed a day after demonstrators caused extensive damage in the city after the grand jury decision.
Getty Images
Police officers secure the Los Angeles Police Department Headquarters after protesters pushed over barricades during demonstrations on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
A protester sits in the back of a Los Angles Police Department transport bus in the early morning hours of Nov. 26, 2014, after being arrested at a protest against the Ferguson grand jury decision.
Getty Images
Police arrest a Ferguson protester during the early morning hours of Nov. 26, 2014.
Getty Images
A protester has her eyes flushed after being pepper sprayed by police in Ferguson on Nov. 26, 2014.
Getty Images
Protesters turned over a police car during a demonstration on Nov. 25, 2014 in Ferguson.
Getty Images
Lesley McSpadden, mother of Michael Brown Jr., attends a press conference in New York City on Nov. 26, 2014 to pray and address the events of the last few days.
Getty Images
Protesters set up barricades and block the 101 freeway in Los Angeles following the Ferguson grand jury decision, during a protest on Nov. 25, 2014.
Getty Images
1 of 35
Violence erupts in Ferguson, and protests are held across the country after a grand jury decided Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson would not face criminal charges in the shooting death of Michael Brown
Police officers march by a burning squad car during a demonstration in Ferguson, Missouri on Nov. 24, 2014.
From his celebrated conversations with world figures to his work to inspire the next generation of leaders, Tavis Smiley — broadcaster, author, publisher, advocate, and philanthropist — has emerged as an outstanding voice for change. Smiley is currently the host of the late-night television talk show "Tavis Smiley" on PBS, as well as "The Tavis Smiley Show" from Public Radio International (PRI). He is the author of the book "Death of a King: The Real Story of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Final Year."