Ferguson: A peaceful Ferguson came together on Thursday to celebrate Thanksgiving and recover from violent protests that erupted when a police officer was not charged in the shooting death of an unarmed black teenager.
Visible signs of the turbulence of recent days were armed National Guard troops and Humvees posted at shopping malls and bleak-looking boarded-up stores.
But for the first time this week, there were no signs of any major protests in the St Louis suburb, which reeled from Monday’s decision by a Missouri grand jury not to charge a white policeman who shot dead 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9.
Residents kept out of the cold, spending the holiday with friends and family, attending church services and beautifying boarded-up stores.
“I believe God enough to know we will rebuild,” said Reverend Carlton Lee, the pastor at Flood Christian Church, which was burnt beyond repair during the violence on Monday.
He spoke at a service at the nearby Wellspring Church, saying he had received death threats and was devastated to watch the building go up in flames.
Life would carry on, Lee said.
Sunday service will be held in a heated tent in the parking lot and the church, where Brown’s father reportedly worshipped, set up an online appeal for $50,000 to rebuild. So far, it has attracted $2,000.
Wellspring offered a free traditional Thanksgiving lunch of turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and pumpkin pie to members of the community and a diverse group of Christians from nearby parishes who came to express support.
“We do this every year but right now with the Ferguson unrest, it just brings the community together,” said volunteer server Rhonda Johnson.
“The important thing is for people who have been to Ferguson, and who have shopped in Ferguson, and who have been part of Ferguson, to keep doing that,” said fellow volunteer and local journalist Alvin Reid.
Anger over the grand jury verdict and Brown’s killing is still palpable, and protesters have all vowed to continue demonstrating until justice is served.
“I don’t know what’s going to happen, I really don’t. I think time heals all wounds but how much time it’s going to take, I don’t know,” said Reid.
Many say they can never accept the grand jury decision that Officer Darren Wilson shot Brown in lawful self-defence after an altercation. In total, 12 shots were fired.
Wellspring pastor Willis Johnson said the community still felt great disappointment and mistrust, but was quietly optimistic that healing would come.
“We thought more than anything that people needed to come out and come together,” Johnson told AFP as diners tucked into lunch. “It was imperative.”
His church has provided medical respite, counselling and help to members of the community traumatised by the decision and the unrest.
