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Grief as a 'life sentence'
It’s been a decade since Michael Brown’s death.
After a white officer shot and killed the 18-year-old, people in and around Ferguson, Missouri, were thrust into the spotlight. With protests came a rallying cry for change after decades of systemic racism in law enforcement and the criminal justice system.
For Michael’s father, the grief of losing a son is a “life sentence.” Some days are more difficult than others. In those moments, Michael’s father and stepmother have sought to turn their pain into purpose. Long after the lawsuits, federal investigations, and tireless questions over police accountability, the pair have turned to supporting families who, too, have lost loved ones.
PBS News spoke with Michael’s family on how they’d like him to be remembered. And Ferguson’s own shared their thoughts on what the legacy of the St. Louis suburb ought to be.
This newsletter was compiled by Joshua Barajas.
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'THE WORLD WILL KNOW MY NAME'
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This is a still image from “Stranger Fruit,” a 2017 documentary about the killing of Michael Brown Jr. in 2014. Michael Sr. holds a photo of his son as a baby. The image was on display at a public exhibit in Ferguson, days before the 10th anniversary of the younger Brown’s death. Photo by Gabrielle Hays/PBS News
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By Gabrielle Hays, @thegabhour
Communities Correspondent
Michael Brown Sr. wants the world to know that his son was loving and loved.
“He was a human. He wasn't a robot,” he said. “He was a young man, you know? People seem to forget he was someone's child.”
The elder Brown remembers playful water fights in the house and the way his son would jump in the pool.
Cal Brown, Michael’s stepmother, remembers a laugh that reminded her of Count von Count, the purple Muppet fond of numbers on “Sesame Street.” “Ah ah ah!”
“I'm not sure where he got that laugh from,” she said.
Michael graduated high school days before he was killed. Around that time, Michael told his family what his future would be like.
“The world will know my name,” Cal remembers him saying over a meal at a local Chinese restaurant. “I’m going to shake the world.”
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Eight years after former police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed 18-year-old Michael Brown, his family and members of the community released doves in his memory. The image, originally captured by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, is now on display at the exhibit. Photo by Gabrielle Hays/PBS News
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In the initial aftermath of Michael’s killing, the same narrative — an 18-year-old, unarmed Black man who just graduated from high school — was repeated again and again for months, Cal said.
She watched as her husband stayed “pretty much in a tunnel.” Michael Sr., a man of few words, was told that “nobody wanted to see an angry Black father, that they wanted to see the tears of a grieving mother.”
“To mute me was kind of easy,” Michael Sr. said.
But that would not last long. Cal told her husband that he needed to say something.
“They think your boy didn't have a father, and they're creating all these different narratives,” she recalled telling Michael Sr. “They're dehumanizing him. They're dehumanizing his parents, his family.”
“At the time, I didn't even know the words to give him, but I knew that he was going to have to speak up,” she said.
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Near where Michael Brown Jr. was killed in Ferguson, an exhibit marks the 10th anniversary of the 18-year-old’s death. On display are images of Michael, his father, and people from the community. Photo by Gabrielle Hays/PBS News
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After more than 100 days of peaceful protests and outrage in Ferguson, a grand jury announced it would not charge the officer for Michael’s death. Michael Sr. told MSNBC he was “crushed” by the grand jury’s decision. He also condemned how people spoke about his son.
“They crucified his character. For people that don’t even know my son … the things that they are saying, it’s just terrible,” he said.
Today, Michael’s family has sought to build a legacy in his name. Weeks after Michael’s death in 2014, his father and stepmother launched Chosen for Change, an organization that provides support and resources to grieving families who are “processing the unthinkable.” |
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Michael Brown Sr. and Cal Brown speak about their organization “Chosen for Change.” Video by Nine PBS
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The community-based work has been a part of the healing process, Michael Sr. said.
“That's what we get our justice from, helping other families,” he added.
This week, events across the community are marking the 10th anniversary of Michael’s death.
A public exhibit at the Urban League’s Ferguson Community Empowerment Center memorializes Michael in blown-up photos, artwork and videos. Alongside those remembrances are items that belonged to him, including his cap and gown.
It’s also a tribute to Ferguson, even as police reform in the city and abroad has stalled. Darren Wilson, the former police officer who fatally shot Michael, would be later acquitted. Michael’s mother, Lezley McSpadden has said she’s still waiting for justice and still waiting for promises of reform from certain officials to come through.
Ten years later, Michael Sr. is still processing the loss of his son. And he’s still committed to keeping his name alive.
“It ain't over, it's just the beginning,” he said.
HOW FERGUSON WANTS TO BE REMEMBERED |
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PBS News spoke with six Ferguson community members on what’s changed since Michael Brown’s death. Watch the segment in the player above.
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Darrius Turner was 8 years old when Michael Brown was killed.
Those days are a bit of a blur for him now, but what he does remember sticks with him to this day.
“I did notice is the way that my family and the people around me and the adults in my life story are responding and reacting to me and the other little Black boys in my family, they sheltered us a little bit more and they kept us a little bit more for fear of something like what happens to him happening to us,” he told PBS News.
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A young Darrius. Photo courtesy of family
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We spoke with people across Ferguson this week on how Michael’s death affected the community.
Today, Turner is 18, the same age Michael Jr. was when he died. He serves as the president of the Ferguson Youth Initiative and is preparing to go away to college. Ten years after the Ferguson uprising, Turner said he’d like to live in a world where Black boys can live without fear.
“We need to build the world, to set up the world and change the world in a way where we can exist just like everybody else, and not have to monitor and watch ourselves so much,” he said.
“But until we get to that day, take care. Listen. Keep track of us.” |
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