By Kenneth Lipp
Protests and a shocking, wholly disproportionate martial response from police in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri have brought issues of police use of force and law enforcement violence against minorities into primetime news as never before. Looters, peaceful demonstrators, and journalists alike have clashed with a militarized police force which has cavalierly and repeatedly employed tear gas, rubber bullets, wooden rounds, and other crowd-control weapons in an attempt to clear public spaces of frustrated, angry demonstrators, the vast majority of whom seek answers and justice stemming from the murder of an unarmed 18 year old named Michael Brown. Tension has seldom abated in the week since Brown was allegedly shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer. Missouri’s governor declared a state of emergency on Saturday.
The head of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon, today called on Missouri law enforcement “to abide by U.S. and international standards in dealing with demonstrators.”
Two events have been announced this week in Philadelphia by organizations calling for police accountability and justice in the Brown case. The first is this evening, “Fightback for Ferguson – Justice for Michael Brown,” at 6 pm, 52nd & Market Streets in West Philly, organized by People Utilizing Real Power.
A second rally called by the Philadelphia Trayvon Martin Organizing Committee is scheduled for tomorrow at LOVE Park at JFK and 15th Street, also at 6 PM.
Follow ongoing coverage of Philadelphia’s response to the events unfolding in Ferguson, Missouri at The Declaration.
The Philly Declaration 
[…] Below are two days of protests in Philadelphia over the murder of 18 year-old Ferguson, Missouri teenager Michael Brown. Community members here are not only venting frustration, anger, and sadness over Brown’s killing, but demonstrating over police misconduct and a lack of accountability in their neighborhoods, too. They’ve also put out a call for people to continue rallies and organizing to fight what they perceive as an epidemic of police violence. You can see more of The Declaration’s coverage about these events here and here. […]
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