VIDEO >> Oxford's Moment of Silence for Ferguson

As daylight reverted to diagonal stripes across buildings two people sat on the Courthouse steps. It was August 14th, the day after the conflict in Ferguson, MO, caused by heavy-handed police crowd control tactics towards the protestors mourning late Mike Brown’s death by Officer Darren Williams. They wore red shirts, and they were met with a crowd of people wearing some variety of red. There is a small cardboard sign that reads: “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot,” in both words and drawings.

This gathering was a part of a national movement: National Moment of Silence in solidarity with victims of police brutality. The name was shortened to #NMOS14. Here is a graphic of the national movement.

Robert McAuliffe, a St. Louis native, is the host of Oxford’s gathering. He is a junior international studies major at University of Mississippi.
McAuliffe said, “I have friends from all over the St. Louis area, so I’ve been following Ferguson events closely. This gathering is to memorialize Mike Brown and for people in Ferguson who have been harmed by the police. We’re protesting police brutality in general around our nation.”
Many attendees share their reasons for participating in the video below:

Chief Joey East of Oxford police department commented on this gathering. He said, “We at the Oxford police department respect everyone’s First Amendment rights and think that they should be allowed to express their opinion as the law indicates.”
Oxford Police Department works to connect with Oxonians as evidenced by its open house event last year and its mounted patrol, created for the police to be more approachable while working.
There are more photos and relevant links available at this listed Facebook event for #NMOS14.
An edition was made to credit the #NMOS14 graphic to its creator. (8/18/14)
– Callie Daniels is a staff writer at HottyToddy.com. She can be reached via email at callie.daniels@hottytoddy.com