Search Results for: Ferguson Missouri

Governor Jay Nixon (D-MO) said yesterday that, if necessary, he will send the Missouri National Guard to Ferguson if violence breaks out after the grand jury’s decision on whether or not to indict Darren Wilson is announced, the New York Times reported. “The Guard will be available when we determine it is necessary to support local law enforcement,” Nixon said at a press conference at a state highway patrol office. “Quite simply, we must and will be fully prepared.” Nixon had previously called up the Guard in August as protests over Wilson fatally shooting unarmed African-American teenager Michael Brown...

The intense media spotlight on the small town of Ferguson, Missouri has given many of the town’s problems national attention. Much of it revolves around the vast racial difference between the city’s government and the city’s residents. Ferguson’s population is about 70 percent black, but you would never know it from looking at its elected officials and police force. Of seven city council members, six are white; of 53 police officers, 50 are white. And the mayor is a white Republican. Ferguson also has an incredibly low voter turnout, especially for local elections. As ThinkProgress pointed out, Ferguson has...