The Revs. Emmett G. Price III and Irene Monroe joined Boston Public Radio to talk about recent incidents in Ferguson, Missouri, and Cleveland, Ohio. Last week, a grand jury decided not to indict Darren Wilson, a white police officer who shot and killed unarmed African-American Michael Brown. There have been ongoing protests across the US since that decision.
Darren Wilson spoke last week to ABC's George Stephanopoulos. Wilson told Stephanopoulos he would do "nothing" differently if he confronted with the same situation. Both Price and Monroe said they didn't think Wilson was remorseful. Price warned Wilson "has to live with himself" and the fallout from Brown's death.
Monroe was struck by Wilson's seeming lack of contrition. "He didn't emote," Monroe said. "The way in which he dehumanizes Michael Brown, he says, 'I thought he was Hulk Hogan, I thought he was a demon coming at me,'" was disturbing, Monroe said.
Over the weekend, Darren Wilson resigned from the Ferguson police force, citing a "credible threat" against him. Ferguson Mayor James Knowles said Wilson would receive no severance pay. Wilson still faces a federal civil rights investigation.
On Sunday, Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick appeared on Meet the Press to talk about his political future. When the conversation shifted to the Ferguson grand jury decision, Patrick minced no words: "Of course I want to see an indictment."
Rev. Price said other leaders would do well to follow Gov. Patrick's lead. "I thought it was a great, great comment, and one that was extremely bold and courageous. I would've loved to hear the same thing from Pres. Obama," Price said. "I'm proud of Gov. Patrick because there is a lived experience, and there is a sincerity in actually saying that Officer Wilson wasn't exonerated, he just wasn't indicted. Those are two different things!"
On Sunday, five players for the St. Louis Rams staged a silent protest by coming out of the tunnel before their game doing the "hands up don't shoot" gesture. The move drew swift criticism from the St. Louis Police Officers Association, but raised the profile of Ferguson protestors. Price called the gesture "powerful."
Street protests continue in Ferguson, Cambridge, and many other cities. Brown has become a face for the cause, Rev. Monroe said, despite being an imperfect one. "We have to talk about the elephant in the room — Michael Brown's allegedly-criminal behavior," Monroe said. "Perhaps he did rob this store. It does not excuse the excessive force that was used."
"This is one of the challenges of the civil rights movement," Price said. He noted Rosa Parks wasn't the first African American to refuse to give up her seat on a public bus. " Claudette Colvin was the first, but her backstory wasn't 'clean' enough," Price said, referring to an incident that occurred nine months before Parks's similarly courageous act. Colvin was 15 when she refused to abide by segregated bus laws. "She was a teenage pregnant girl (...) and the NAACP didn't want to put her image out there," Monroe added.
Every Monday when I leave here, I hope to see Emmett again. This is the world we live in. It doesn't matter that you're a college professor, or a 12-year-old boy. - Rev. Irene Monroe
Boston Public Radio hosts Jim Braude and Margery Eagan asked the reverends why they thought there was less clamor over the shooting death of Tamir Rice. Rice was a 12-year-old Cleveland boy with a pellet gun who was shot dead by police. "He was a 12-year-old kid, [and] people can say, 'Well, that was an accident because that doesn't happen every day,'" Price said. Monroe agreed the shooting had been portrayed as more of an isolated incident.
When asked about her lingering concerns in the aftermath of Ferguson, Monroe she said she had a very immediate worry. "Every Monday when I leave here, I hope to see Emmett again. (...) He's been stopped," Monroe said. "This is the world we live in. (...) It doesn't matter that you're a college professor, or a 12-year-old boy."
>> Emmett G. Price III is a professor of music at Northeastern University, and the author of The Black Church and Hip Hop Culture. Irene Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist who writes for Huffington Post and Bay Windows. To hear the entire interview, click the audio above.
