Politicizing Michael Brown’s Death: The Hidden Agendas

All funerals are sad, and Michael Brown’s funeral is no exception. Brown was the unarmed black teenager in Ferguson, Mo., shot and killed by a white police officer on August 9. In death, Brown has become a national symbol of police brutality and rampant racism against the black community. Three White House officials attended his funeral. Attorney General Eric Holder has visited the city, and Democrat Governor Jay Nixon has vowed to vigorously “prosecute” rather than vigorously “investigate” the case.  Is this an appropriate response to Brown’s death, or is there a hidden agenda to milk Brown’s death for all it’s worth? 

There are multiple competing agendas that have little to do with Michael’s death or the circumstance surrounding it. Benjamin Crump, the Brown family’s attorney, who represented Travyon Martin’s family and won a huge civil suit, has an incentive to describe Brown’s death as an execution: it makes a settlement from the city far more likely. Likewise, the Obama White House has an incentive to politicize Michael’s death as part of a national strategy to mobilize the black community for the November elections. 

As it stands, the Obama Administration has done little to address the problems affecting poor communities. By focusing on racism instead of unemployment, immigration and poverty, the Democrats can hope for an energized electorate. Missed in all of this is an opportunity to address what black communities can do to change self-defeating patterns.