Dr George Conyne, an expert on US society, commented on the violence after the decision not to indict anyone following the death of Michael Brown.
Dr Conyne, of the University’s School of History, said that the violence has its roots in ‘institutional failures’.
He said: ‘The violence in various cities in the United States that has occurred in reaction to the decision by the grand jury not to indict anyone following the August death of Michael Brown should not cause us to ignore the many peaceful vigils and protests that are not nearly as photogenic but ought to be as newsworthy.
‘Neither should they overshadow that the tragedy of the killing was followed by a series of mistakes – including the withholding of evidence and virtual disappearance of the accused officer – that made what we now know to be a complex confrontation that had many facets into a simple case of unwarranted killing.
‘But the broader tragedy lies in the fact that this is a killing that has its roots in institutional failures have been seen in places all across the United States – and indeed in Britain and Europe as well.
‘Although appearing to be a slow-moving suburb, Ferguson has in about thirty years changed from being an overwhelmingly white working-to-middle class community to a predominantly black one. Yet its governance is still virtually all white.
‘The mayor and small town council are white and 50 of the 53 police officers are white. While there is suggestion of a vicious conspiracy of suppression here, it is a fact that, like recent arrivals anywhere, the recent arrivals in Ferguson have yet to vote in large numbers and get involved in civic affairs. All reports are that no one had pressed the police force to a more representative profile – a profile that might be more sensitive to the tensions and needs of the community.
‘Would that have saved Michael Brown’s life? Possibly not. But in community after community in the United States, when those governing have reflected the contemporary racial make-up, tensions have lowered and at least some needs have been addressed. The most famous examples of this are the “long hot summers” racial violence experienced in 1965-68 and the years after. The US, and other countries, need to remember those “lessons” and address the problem of race directly because that is the only way they will ever finally put the continuing divisions of race behind them.’
Dr Conyne’s research interests include American constitutional, political and diplomatic history as well as the founding of the nation, the American Civil War, the Progressive Era, the Civil Rights Era, and contemporary political history.
For more contact Dr Conyne.