Page 6
Fortiani» OObscrtier
August 27, 2014
Mourners Remember Michael Brown
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c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 2
More than 4,500 mourners filled
Friendly Temple Missionary Bap­
tist Church in St. Louis for the ser­
vice, which at times seemed like a
cross between a gospel revival and
a rock concert. It began with upbeat
m usic punctuated by clapping.
Some people danced in place.
The crowd included the parents
of Tray von Martin, the unarmed 17-
year-old African-American fatally
shot by a neighborhood watch vol­
unteer in Florida, along with acousin
of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old mur­
dered by several white men while
visiting Mississippi in 1955. Till's
killing galvanized the civil rights
movement.
Also in attendance were several
Lesley McSpadden, mother o f Michael Brown, wipes a tear as she stands by his casket at his
White House aides, the Rev. Jesse
funeral Monday at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis, Mo. (AP photo)
Jackson, moviemaker Spike Lee,
entertainer Sean Combs and some projection screens showed a photo
Police have said a scuffle broke munity to task, saying it should be
children of the Rev. Martin Luther of him clutching his high school out Aug. 9 after officer Darren Wil­ as upset about black-on-black crime
King.
diploma while wearing a cap and son told Brown and a friend to move as it is about police violence: "We
The Rev. Charles Ewing, the gown. Two days after his death, he out of the street and onto a sidewalk have to be outraged by our disre­
uncle who delivered the eulogy, said had been scheduled to start training in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson. spect for each other."
Brown "prophetically spoke his to become a heating and air-condi­ Police said Wilson was pushed into
"Blackness," he added, "has
demise." And now his blood is "cry­ tioning technician.
his squad car and physically as­ never been about being a gangster
ing from the ground. Crying for ven­
Brown, who was to be buried in saulted. Some witnesses have re­ or a thug."
geance. Crying for justice."
a St. Louis cemetery, was unarmed ported seeing Brown's arms in the air
Money and possessions mean
Poster-size photos of Brown, when he was killed. A grand jury is in an act of surrender. An autopsy little, he said, "if we can't protect a
wearing headphones, were on each considering evidence in the case, found he was shot at least six times. child walking down the street in
side of the casket, which had a St. and a federal investigation is also
Relatives denounced a video re­ Ferguson" and bring justice.
Louis Cardinals ball cap atop it. Large underway.
leased by police, who say it shows
Brown's death fueled nearly two
Brown snatching cigars from a con­
venience store just before he was
killed. In the video, the person said
to be Brown grabs a clerk by the
shirt and forcefully pushes him into
a display rack.
Sharpton also took the black com-
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weeks of sometimes-violent street
protests in Ferguson. His father,
Michael Brown Sr., asked protest­
ers to observe a "day of silence"
Monday to let the family grieve.
The request appeared to be hon­
ored. At the Ferguson Police De-
group of protesters have stood vigil,
a handm ade sign announced a
"break for funeral." On Monday
afternoon, the W est Florissant
Avenue commercial corridor was
also devoid of protesters, whose
ranks have typically swelled as days
turned to nights.
After the service, Corey Thomas,
a 34-year-old St. Louis man, said the
large crowd at the church reflected
"that people are tired of being treated
like dogs. They're tired of being
taken advantage of."
The mourners came to show their
support because "it could be any
one of us," Thomas said.
Angela Pierre, a machine opera­
tor who once lived in Ferguson, said
she hopes the funeral helps turn a
page and eases tensions. Most im­
portant, she hopes it provides heal­
ing for Brown's family.
"I really wanted to just be here
today to pray for the family and pray
for peace," said Pierre, 48, who is
black. "When all of this dies down,
there's still a mother, father and a
family who's lost someone. Some­
times a lot of the unrest takes away
from that."
Monday also marked the first
day back at school for students in
the Ferguson-Florissant School
District. Classes had been sched­
uled to begin Aug. 14 but were post­
poned because of safety concerns.
"We're ready to move forward,"
said M arcus Baker, a ju n io r at
M cC luer South-B erkeley High
School. "But we're still going to
remember him."
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Residents Safely Flee Hotel Fire
c o n t i n u e d f r o m page 3
tional housing for Portland parol­
ees and probationers.
Local shelters and rehabilita­
tion facilities frequently refer cli­
ents to the hotel and it has be­
com e an im portant location dur­
ing a time in which affordable
housing in Portland is scarce.
C ascadia Behavioral Healthcare
reports that respite housing like
that available at the Joyce Hotel
has slow ly vanished from the
Portland com m unity. The quality
o f much o f the rem aining transi­
tional housing has gone down,
leaving more o f the population
vulnerable to hom elessness.
Saturday’s fire was caused by
a fan that caught fire in a bath­
room on the second floor, causing
about $ 1,000 in dam ages, accord­
ing to fire officials. Several resi­
dents watched and waited to see
if they'd be allowed back in. Luck­
ily, the fire caused only a brief
disruption.
One resident, Elena W ilson, ex­
plained that she had only been at
the Joyce Hotel for a week. She
was referred to the housing pro­
vider from Emm anuel Hospital.