On March 6, 19-year-old Tony Robinson was shot by a police officer in Madison, Wis., which greatly “intensified concerns of racial bias in U.S. law enforcement,” says Reuters. Since the incident, family, friends and those “angry over the death… [have been marching] through the streets of Madison toward the capital building… carry signs, beating drums and chanting, ‘The people united will never be defeated,’” Yahoo News reported.Sean McClellan, a senior social work major from Utah, said he feels he has learned a good deal of the conditions that continue a racist system. “I still see racism today, and I think it will take many decades for people to able to not make racist judgments when two people of two different skin colors are faced in conflict.” McClellan continued, “I think cases like Ferguson and the Madison one are going to keep being exploited if people keep feeding the flame.”For Sione Fuluvaka, a freshman math major from Laie, his experience from serving a mission in Florida had shown him how even in a state that is a melting pot of cultures and different races, there is still racism and stereotypes. “Even though I haven’t personally experienced racism, even on my mission, I’ve seen how some people can’t look past stereotypes. I think it helps me understand the reactions of people who make race a reason for violence.”Sara Black, a freshman elementary education major from Kailua, said, “It is hard to say that racism doesn’t exist, but it does. It is unfortunate.”CNN compared the different reactions of the Madison police and the Ferguson police as the reason for the low key protesting in Madison and the violent protesting in Ferguson after a black teenager died from a shot fired by a white police officer.In Madison, Police Chief Mike Koval immediately went to the home of Robinson to apologize and to “show affirmative steps in moving forward to bring the community back into the fold,” said Koval. In contrast, Ferguson Police Chief Tomas Jackson finally went to apologize to Brown’s family after a month of violent protesting, reported CNN.The investigating procedures also greatly differed between the two towns, resulting in less of a violent outlash in Madison. CNN reported, “Under Wisconsin law, an outside agency is tasked with the investigation of police-involved shootings.” On March 9, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker stated that outside agency will be the Wisconsin Department of Justice.CNN reported in Ferguson’s case, “Chief Jackson asked the St. Louis County Police Department to conduct an independent investigation into Brown’s killing.”The timing between the shooting and releasing the name of the officer that shot the teen was also important, said CNN. Within hours of the incident, Chief Koval released the name of the officer who shot Robinson, reports CNN. By not withholding information from the public, says CNN, there was no time for racial suspicion to build. In Ferguson, “Three days after Brown was killed, Ferguson police backtracked on a promise made a day earlier to release the name of the officer,” wrote CNN. Brown’s family, CNN continued, “accused the police of protecting their own and ignoring standard procedures.”An additional key factor, CNN explained, is how the authorities presented the victim. When Chief Koval was pressed for details on documents that indicated that Robinson plead guilty for an armed robbery that happened a year ago, Koval said, “I could but I choose not to… I am not going to blemish anyone’s character.”In complete contrast, CNN reported Chief Jackson released a video in which Brown robbed a convenience store prior to the shooting.These all resulted in differences in the size and tone of rallies in each town. In Madison, demonstrations have remained peaceful as activists chanted, “Black lives matter” and “Who do we trust? No one!” reported CNN News. In Ferguson, within a few hours of Brown’s death people began to violently, “hurtled bottles at officers and kicked police cars,” and demonstrations continued for weeks afterward.Uploaded March 19, 2015
Writer: Jessica Everette
