5 years after Ferguson, racial tension might be more intense

By Jim Salter, The Associated Press

FERGUSON, Mo. — Michael Brown’s death at the hands of a white Missouri police officer stands as a seismic moment in American race relations. The fledgling Black Lives Matter movement found its voice, police departments fell under scrutiny, court policies were revised.

Yet five years after the black 18-year-old was fatally shot by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson, racial tension may be even more intense. From the march on Charlottesville to President Donald Trump’s tweets attacking congressional Democrats of colour, the country often seems more divided than ever.

Ferguson has changed. It has more black leaders and has undertaken sweeping police and municipal court reforms. An ongoing agreement with the Justice Department requires even more changes. The monitor overseeing the deal wants the pace to accelerate, as do some other townspeople.

Jim Salter, The Associated Press

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