On Monday, a grand jury in Ferguson, Missouri came to a decision on whether Officer Darren Wilson would stand trial in the August 9th shooting death of Michael Brown. Brown's death prompted protests in Ferguson and beyond, and media attention has been trained on the city in anticipation of a ruling.
Jim Braude, cohost of Boston Public Radio, asked Monday whether the media — network news coverage, print, and social platforms like Twitter and Facebook — unreasonably stirred up tension ahead of the grand jury decision. (Note: this conversation took place before the decision was announced to the public.)
"The ratings are flying through the ceilings," the Rev. Emmett G. Price III said on BPR. "We have another scenario where people (...) are feeling that policing is not where it should be, and that people think the justice system is not where it should be." That combination, Price said, led to nationwide interest in Monday's decision.
"The prosecutor didn't have to go that route," Price said. "The grand jury [was] sitting [t]here getting to figure out, 'If we do it this way, then this may happen.' (...) Then you have the governor that declares a state of emergency, mobilizes the National Guard, and then cancels school today and tomorrow. I mean, gee whiz!"
Braude asked whether an indictment of Officer Wilson would mean justice had been served, but Price didn't think so. The Rev. Irene Monroe said US protestors' goal — from the beginning — was to get enough coverage to try to tilt public opinion towards a just resolution, in this case and others. "It's about keeping this story alive," Monroe said.
Price said the deluge of Ferguson coverage sometimes bordered on irresponsible. "I'm concerned about the pundits. You already have [former New York Mayor] Rudy Giuliani," speaking out, Price said. (On Sunday, Mayor Giuliani said "93 percent of blacks" in the US were killed by other African Americans.) "What are you talking about?" Price asked.
BPR cohost Margery Eagan pointed out Michael Brown's death was only one in a string of related incidents. "There's a context here. We just had Trayvon Martin," Eagan said, referring to Martin's 2012 shooting death. Price also noted the recent death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio, who was killed after officers mistook his toy gun for a real one.
>> The Rev. Irene Monroe is a syndicated religion columnist who writes for Huffington Post and Bay Windows. The Rev. Emmett G. Price III is the author of The Black Church and Hip Hop Culture, and a professor of music at Northeastern University. The two join BPR every Monday for "All Revved Up."
