At the onset of Ferguson’s protests, Amnesty International USA deployed observers to monitor police interactions with the demonstrators. On October 24, the human rights organization released “On the Streets of America: Human Rights Abuses in Ferguson,” detailing the human rights concerns raised by the actions of law enforcement and public officials during the initial protests. The report highlights the excessive use of militarized policing, including tear gas, loud sirens and rubber bullets, and how these tactics posed real threats to the demonstrator’s right to protest. Melissa Harris-Perry and her panel—including Aisha Moodie-Mills, senior fellow at the Center for American Progress, Jelani Cobb, associate professor at the University of Connecticut, attorney Raul Reyes and civil rights attorney Lisa Bloom—discuss the Amnesty report and the Ferguson protests’ ongoing legacy.
—N’Kosi Oates
Melissa Harris-PerryTwitterMelissa Harris-Perry is the Maya Angelou Presidential Chair and Professor in the Department of Politics and International Affairs and the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Wake Forest University. She is also the co-host of The Nation’s System Check podcast.