Michael Brown Sr., center, participates in a unity march on Friday in Ferguson. His son was killed a decade ago by a white Ferguson police officer.
As Michael Brown Sr. gathered with a crowd in the parking lot of Normandy High School on Friday morning, he said his message to the world remains the same.
“I’m not gonna never let the world forget about my son,” Brown said.
Brown’s son, Mike Brown Jr., was killed by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson 10 years ago Friday. To mark the anniversary of his death and the global movement that came out of it, Brown’s family organized a series of events this month, including a unity walk Friday.
As marchers lined up, some wore shirts with Brown Jr.’s face on them and donned red St. Louis hats. Amy Moran Okai traveled from Kansas City to support the family and mark the anniversary.
“I want to see justice for more lives that have been lost,” Okai said.
The event’s route stretched more than four miles, from Brown’s alma mater to the spot on Canfield Drive where he was killed. His father hoped the unity walk would show a community standing together despite its loss. And he wanted to remember his son’s humanity by starting at his high school.
“We wanted to show what he did in his life before the hashtag,” Brown said.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Protestors take the streets on Friday during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s killing by police.
At St. Peter’s cemetery, where Brown is buried, the group paused for a moment of silence.
Juan Lewis was among a handful of people carrying a large sign that said “Black Lives Matter.” Ten years ago, when he was a student at the University of Missouri, the event brought his focus on injustices faced by marginalized people. On Friday, Lewis came out to support the family and the community.
“Ferguson is every city in America,” Lewis said.
As the crowd made its way down Canfield Drive, buckets of blue roses were waiting in the middle of the street. Lining the sidewalks were painted black fists to represent others killed by police.
Person after person took a rose and placed it in a line along the road, leading to a pop-up memorial marking the spot where Brown body lay for 4½ hours in the summer sun. Teddy bears and stuffed animals sat in the center, while messages were painted around the edges saying “All Roads Lead To Ferguson” and “Chosen for Change,” the name of the organization that Michael Brown Sr., and his wife, Cal, founded to support other families who have lost a loved one.
The crowd surrounded the memorial and Brown released a box of live butterflies. Religious leaders, activists and people close to the family spoke to the crowd, including U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, who represents parts of St. Louis and St. Louis County.
“There has still not been justice for this family,” Bush said. “There has still not been change, not enough for black folks to feel it. And so right now, we lift up all of Mike Brown's family, every single one that felt the pain and continues to feel it.”
After the event, tables of food and school supplies were set out for families. Later Friday evening, Chosen for Change planned a fundraising gala at the Missouri History Museum.
See photos from the march below by St. Louis Public Radio's Brian Munoz.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Michael Brown Sr., center, leads a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s death on Friday near Normandy High School in Normandy. Michael Brown Jr., his son, was killed by a white Ferguson police officer in 2014 only days after graduating from high school.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Trinaya’ Walker, 22, holds her daughter Bobbie Ann Atkins, 6, on Friday during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s killing by police in Ferguson. Walker said she is Brown Jr.’s sister.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Hundreds of demonstrators take to the streets on Friday during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s killing by police in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Ebony Williams, 33, of The Ville, yells out “Say his name!” on Friday during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s killing by police in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Demea White, 18, of Castle Point, right, throws her hands up in the air on Friday during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s killing by police in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Adara Ameer, 19, of Florissant, on Friday before a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s killing by police in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Protestors take the streets on Friday during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s death.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Andrew Joseph, 50, of Tampa, Fla., throws his fist in the air alongside hundreds of marchers on Friday, during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s killing by a white Ferguson police officer.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Michael Brown Sr., third from right, calls out as a group of civil rights leaders have their photograph made in front of a billboard on Friday during a unity march commemorating Micahel Brown Jr.'s death in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Roland Garner, 39, of St. Joseph, Mo., joins hundreds of demonstrators on Friday during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s death.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Angelique Kidd, 51, of Ferguson, demonstrates on Friday during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s killing in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Michael Brown Sr., center, leads a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s police killing in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Andrew Joseph, 50, of Tampa Fla., leads chants on Friday, Aug. 9, 2024, during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s death.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Jeremiah Trask, 18, of Chicago, puts his fist into the air on Friday during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s death in Ferguson. “As a young Black man in society, we don’t know what can happen anymore,” he said on why he attended the demonstration.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Clara Holmes, 55, of north St. Louis, makes her way to Canfield Drive on Friday during a unity march commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s death.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Demonstrators lay a thousand blue roses on Friday along Canfield Drive, the site where Michael Brown Jr. was killed by a white Ferguson police officer a decade ago.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Farrakhan Shegog lays blue roses along Canfield Drive on Friday during a service commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s killing by police in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Michael Brown Sr. holds a blue rose on Friday at the end of a march commemorating his son’s killing by a white Ferguson police officer a decade ago in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Andrew Joseph, 50, of Tampa Fla., reflects on Michael Brown Jr.’s death alongside his father Michael Brown Sr., right, on Friday at the end of a unity march commemorating a decade after Brown Jr.’s killing in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
Community activists raise their fists as Michael Brown Sr., center in St. Louis Cardinals hat, wipes his face on Friday during a memorial service on Canfield Drive commemorating a decade after Brown Jr.’s killing by a white police officer in Ferguson.
Brian Munoz
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St. Louis Public Radio
U.S. Rep. Cori Bush, D-St. Louis County, rests her arm on Michael Brown Sr. on Friday during a memorial commemorating a decade after Michael Brown Jr.’s death.
