Strange Fruit

Last Saturday, Ferguson, Missouri police officer Darren Wilson shot an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown, multiple times, killing him. Since then, the situation in Ferguson has been ever changing. Protests and vigils were initially met with a heavy-handed response from the police, who were outfitted with paramilitary equipment that seemed disproportionate to the situation. Eventually, Missouri Governor Jay Dixon relieved the Ferguson PD of policing the situation, placing the town under control of the Missouri Highway Patrol. While all eyes are on Ferguson, the shooting of an unarmed black man by law enforcement is, sadly, a phenomenon that happens with alarming frequency all across the country. USA Today reported that on average there were 96 cases of a white police officer killing a black person each year between 2006 and 2012, based on justifiable homicides reported to the FBI by local police, and that number only includes convicted felons—not people like Mike Brown and Eric Garner, with no felony