Not all think like the animals in Ferguson

Black attorney: Ferguson riots 'set us back'

Posted By Greg Corombos On 11/25/2014

Ferguson riots after grand jury decides not to indict Officer Wilson

Americans frustrated with the the relationship between law enforcement and black communities have legitimate concerns, but a prominent conservative black attorney says the violent reaction to the grand-jury decision in Missouri Monday set back efforts to improve the justice system, and President Obama’s comments and track record only make matters worse.
On Monday, St. Louis County, Missouri, District Attorney Robert McCulloch announced the grand jury considering five separate charges against Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson determined the evidence did not warrant any indictments against Wilson in the August shooting death of Michael Brown. While city, state and national leaders pleaded for calm regardless of the decision, protests quickly turned violent and dozens of Ferguson businesses were looted or burned. At least 21 people were injured and 61 arrested in Ferguson.
Attorney Shelby Emmett is a member of the national advisory council for the Project 21 Black Leadership Network. She said there is deep-seeded mistrust of law enforcement in many heavily black communities, but she argued that nothing on Monday night helped to address them.
“I think it’s utterly shameful,” said Emmett, who added that she has had her own painful experiences with law enforcement that help her identify with some of the exasperation in Ferguson.
Nonetheless, she said there’s a right way and a wrong way to express that frustration, and far too many Ferguson protesters chose the wrong way.
Emmett agrees that these are sensitive issues that need to be addressed and resolved to advance as a nation, but she blasted Obama’s “horrible timing” with protesters already on edge.  She further slammed Obama for squandering a unique opportunity to make progress on racial issues.

“President Obama had a real chance to have a dialogue with everybody, just kind of put it out there, hold blacks accountable for us, hold everybody accountable for their own actions and have a real discussion,” Emmett said. “Instead he does the opposite. He waits for either a specific racial issue to happen, or he allows it to become more of a racial issue than it should have been.”
She believes the nation is far more divided on demographic lines after six years of Obama as president, and she said he deserves a good part of the blame.
“The president is more so using people, using groups, be it illegal aliens, women, African-Americans. I think he uses these groups to push an agenda or distract. I don’t think any of this is genuine on his part and actually wanting to address these issues that actually real, substantive and genuine.”

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