Hard questions as Michael Brown is buried

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REST IN PEACE. It’s the platitude we will hear today as Michael Brown’s parents bury their child.

Brown was the unarmed black teen gunned down on Aug. 9 by Officer Darren Wilson, a white policeman in Ferguson, Mo. The shooting, which raised issues of race, police brutality and Constitutional authority, spurred more than a week of demonstrations, and seared ugly images into our minds.

Tear gas and rubber bullets, police in armored vehicles. The scenes in Ferguson were reminiscent of the Chinese Army facing down pro-Democracy demonstrators in Tiananmen Square. Even now, as Michael Brown’s family prepares to lay him to rest, those ugly images live on.

Today, as Brown’s funeral takes place at the 5,000-seat Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church in St. Louis, Mo., I wonder if we’ll have to bury other things with him.

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Photo: Demonstrators on Aug. 15, 2014 protesting in Ferguson, Mo., after the shooting death of Michael Brown by Officer Darren Wilson (LoavesofBread Wikimedia Commons).

Solomon Jones is an Essence bestselling author and award-winning columnist. He is the creator and editor of Solomonjones.com. Click here to learn more about Solomon