What can be done to prevent more police killings like the death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri? What can be done to dismantle institutional racism that encourages police to racially profile suspects and use overly aggressive tactics—including deadly force—and then protects abusive officers from facing criminal charges? 

For Michael Brown, the stereotypes that Darren Wilson believed proved to be deadly.

Ferguson is ground zero for all Americans who are interested in a vision of social justice that transcends anything we have ever achieved.

An indictment of the Ferguson police officer who killed Michael Brown would not prove that black lives matter in America.

Can it be that simple?
Has America’s long standing history of racism caught up with us? Has the south risen once again? One has to wonder, or do we merely continue to follow this road of denial and the turning of a blind eye to the proverbial- shall I say it- “Elephant in the room?”

"Every day that Michael Brown doesn't receive justice, we are reminded that it's open season on black lives in Ferguson. How are we supposed to live everyday knowing that and not go crazy?" - Anonymous protester

A Department of Justice letter sent to the Police Chief Tom Jackson of Ferguson, Missouri on Friday instructed all officers to stop wearing “I Am Darren Wilson” bracelets. Another letter issued on Tuesday ordered members of the police department to wear readable name plates, after officers were seen wearing unidentifiable tags or none at all.

There's a lot we know about the death of Michael Brown and its aftermath, but many questions remain unanswered.

It’s been 11 days since Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, was shot dead by Darren Wilson, a white policeman in Ferguson, Mo. Since then, the violent protests that followed have drawn national attention and flummoxed authorities and elected officials looking to lower the temperature. But we’re still missing a lot of key facts about the incident and the ongoing investigations. Despite a calmer night on Tuesday, no one knows when the nightly clashes will end.

Amnesty International has sent monitors to the scene. Palestinians are tweeting advice on how to cope with tear gas. Tibetan monks have showed up to offer prayers. Russian officials, Iran’s official news agency and China’s state-run media are offering lectures on human rights abuses.

What started as a small-town police shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old black man in suburban St. Louis has quickly become an international incident.