Rapper Rod Starz of  Hip Hop activist group Rebel Diaz stopped by to give us some information about what is going on in Ferguson, MO and how we can help the cause instead of hurt the cause! Many people are flocking to the area and though they mean well, some are getting in the way because of a lack of knowledge about what is really taking place there and what they need to do to chip in! Well, thank goodness we’ve got someone in the family who has already been on the ground there who can help us get a feel for what needs to be done! Rod graciously gave us his first hand account of what was jumping off and what he thinks needs to be done to help the people of Ferguson. Check out Rod’s top 10 tips and observations from his trip to the area below! TEN IMPORTANT OBSERVATIONS TO KNOW ABOUT FERGUSON: 10. Meeting Mike Brown’s Family While many out of town activists/supporters were going straight to the scene in Ferguson to, as they said, “get it poppin”, we didn’t want to lose sight of why the protests were happening. We were going to support and show solidarity with the people of Ferguson, but we were also going to show love to the family. Through our bro DJ Charlie Hustle, we had a direct connection to the family, as some of them had lived in Milwaukee, where he is from. We arrived straight to the home, and the mood was that of a family in mourning. That’s when we realized the main reason we were there. It wasn’t only to protest; we were there because a young unarmed black man was murdered. Standing with his family made things just that much realer. We got to learn more about him and his character; a character the media has tried to assassinate over the last couple days. Mike Brown comes from a church going family. His uncle is a pastor at a local church. He comes from a big family. You know, those big extended families with mad cousins and aunties. So he wasn’t out in the world as a loner. He comes from a musical family. His cousin Cal is a super dope producer, who two days before Mike’s death had been teaching him how to make beats. Mike was college bound and was supposed to start class the Monday after he was killed. It was heartbreaking to hear his mom talk about how hard it is to have a young black man graduate and to have that taken away. One of the thoughts they shared that stuck with me was their view on his final action. Right before Officer Darren Wilson executed him in broad daylight, he was walking from the store with his friend Dorian Johnson. As the police approached them, he told Dorian to run, as he fell back. His last action was a selfless act. It doesn’t get more selfless than that. He gave his life so his friend could get away. Mike Brown’s last action should be the biggest indicator of what kind of character he had. He was selfless. He put his hands up and surrendered. 9. There is No 911 Call Because He Didn’t Rob the Store: First they assassinate Mike Brown and now they want to assassinate his character. Where’s the 911-call from when he supposedly pulled a “strong arm robbery”? If it existed, don’t you think we would have had it played over and over by the media? It doesn’t exist because they never called police.  Now, lets look at some facts. The police had no knowledge of any robbery or crime by Mike Brown when they stopped him, because a crime never happened. 8. Ending The Monopoly on Violence: Lets be clear! We would not be having this conversation or sharing this story if it wasn’t for the young people’s direct response to violence. In 2014, many of us thought that the idea of confrontational resistance was no longer an option. The youth in Ferguson have proven us wrong. For the last 14 days, they have been in defensive combat mode. The majority of these youth are unarmed, yet they have stood up to a militarized police force and proven to be resilient. For all the armchair revolutionaries and academics that have criticized and analyzed from afar, we can tell you that as the days pass, the youth are getting more and more brave. How dare folks criticize resistance when our young folks are responding to police terrorism? Police terrorism is the real violence! Those young men and women out there are an inspiration to the world. They are realizing that tear gas won’t kill them. They have dealt with pain and street violence before so they aren’t scared. A young man we spoke to said, “How am I supposed to respect a curfew if they don’t respect human life?” Another young woman said: “I’ve been stabbed 15 times and shot twice! My uncle just jumped off a bridge and committed suicide. You think I’m scared?” From solidarity messages from rebels in Palestine and Greece, they have learned how to deal with tear gas and fight back effectively. The monopoly on violence that the system holds has been going on for too long and they have learned how to effectively deal with it over the last two weeks. 7. The Outside Agitators Argument is A Myth and Minimizes the Ferguson Resistance: The protesters that are resisting are the local youth. The resistance to police terror is not being led by “outside agitators”. That’s a BS media attempt to discredit the organic revolt that’s going down. Like Public Enemy once said, “Don’t Believe The Hype!” These are kids who have nothing to lose, and have had everything taken away from them. They have systematically been denied of their humanity and are reclaiming it on their own terms. What we saw firsthand was a whole community in resistance. The elders provide […]