Thousands to attend funeral of slain teen
Thousands were expected on Monday to attend the funeral of the unarmed black teen shot dead by a white policeman in Missouri, two weeks after the killing sparked riots and revived debate on race and law enforcement in the United States.
Though calm had returned to the small city of Ferguson, after days of sometimes-violent protests, the funeral for Michael Brown will be under heavy surveillance.
It is scheduled in the nearby city of St. Louis, in the Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist church, which can seat up to 5,000 people.
The 18-year-old Brown, shot dead on Aug 9 by police officer Darren Wilson, is then to be buried in a private ceremony at St. Peters cemetery.
Brown, just days shy of starting college, was walking down the street after leaving a convenience store where police say he stole a box of cigars, when he was shot by Wilson at least six times.
But accounts of the shooting differ widely, with police alleging Brown was trying to grab Wilson's gun, but with witnesses, including Brown's friend who was walking with him, alleging he was shot as he held his hands in the air in a sign of surrender.
Sunday, under a stifling heat, about 400 mostly black demonstrators gathered to remember Brown. Many wore shirts printed with the protest movement's refrain: "Hands up, don't shoot."
Brown's parents were there, as was the father of Trayvon Martin, another unarmed black teen shot to death, by a neighborhood watch volunteer in 2012 in Florida.
Brown's father urged calm in respect for his son. "Tomorrow, all I want is peace, while my son is being laid to rest. Can you please, please take a day of silence, so we can lay our son to rest," he said.
Brown's death brought to the surface fierce anger from African-Americans over their treatment by law enforcement, sparking riots unprecedented in recent years, which resulted in about 60 arrests.
(China Daily 08/26/2014 page12)
