Ferguson activist raised in the Black Church showed pastors how to aid young protesters
When the Black religious establishment arrived on the scene in Ferguson, Missouri, after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown Jr., protest organizer Brittany Packnett quickly realized something
As twilight descended on Ferguson, Missouri, for a third consecutive night after the killing of Michael Brown Jr. by a police officer, Gwendolyn DeLoach Packnett could no longer hold her peace.
Each day since the killing on Aug. 9, 2014, she had watched her daughter, Brittany, leave the safety of home to protest the grotesque manner in which the 18-year-old Brown had been treated, his body lying in the street for hours, as if in a warning to the community.
The previous night had been particularly brutal: Officers hurled tear gas which Brittany had inhaled. Police officers atop tanks pointed their rifles at protesters. Gwendolyn DeLoach Packnett had seen enough.
“My mom was, like, ‘I just really would rather you stay home,’” Brittany recalled. “She was, ‘I know that you’re passionate about this, I know that you’re angry, but I need you to stay home tonight.’”
