Protests in the Missouri town became substantially more peaceful in their second week, when clergy showed up to be “the soft hand”.
Jim Dalrymple II
The protests over the Aug. 9 death of Michael Brown had their most peaceful day Thursday, with only six arrests and no police effort to drive the crowds away. In large part, law enforcement didn't need to; after a day of oppressive heat followed by a brief but intense downpour, the gathering all but fizzled out on its own.
But smaller numbers didn't mean there weren't potential flash points. Early in the evening, a crowd gathered when supporters of Officer Darren Smith, who shot Brown, showed up. Later, tensions flared again when police took a man into custody.
The night was peppered with incidents like these, but the protest ended peacefully anyway. And that's despite the fact that police haven't made the concessions — indicting Smith, providing the incident report about the shooting, etc. — that protesters are demanding.
Instead, one of the big differences has been a larger, more active role on the part of a growing group of clergy. Here's how those religious leaders soothed the conflicts that ripped through the community for a week and half.
Elder Cornelius Moore (left), of Battle Horn Lighthouse Ministries, and Dr. Glenn Haymon, of Ministry of Reconciliation.
Jim Dalrymple II
One of the big impacts of having clergy on the scene is that there are more peaceful bodies at the protest. Elder Cornelius Moore, of Battle Horn Lighthouse Ministries in St. Louis, had been out for a week by Wednesday, and was among a group passing out flyers about Jesus. He wore a hat Wednesday that looked like an old veteran's cap — except that it was embroidered with the words "God's Army."
"The Bible says to go out into the highways and byways," Moore explained of his decision to come to the protests, "and compel them to come unto Christ."
from BuzzFeed - Breaking http://ift.tt/1lj1Qu0
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