FERGUSON, November 26 (Sputnik) – The violence that has reignited in Ferguson, Missouri, over a police killing of an African-American teenager marks the beginning of more widespread protests across the United States, scholar Michael Shank told Sputnik Tuesday.
"Ferguson is the combustible and lethal combination of structural racism and state-sponsored violence," Shank, from George Mason University's School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, said.
"The people's protest is just the beginning of a perpetual pushback against the increasing abuse of power. And it will be felt from coast to coast, and in cities big and small," Shank stressed.
Major protests erupted in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson Monday over the grand jury's decision not to indict Darren Wilson, a white police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed African-American teenager, in Ferguson, on August 9.
Riot police responded with tear gas, batons and flash grenades. At least 13 people were injured in the St. Louis County as a result. Riots later spread to other US cities.
Brown's shooting triggered massive protests against police brutality in Ferguson and around the country in August. The summer protests were followed by violent clashes between protesters and police officers in Ferguson, which prompted Missouri Governor Jay Nixon to declare a state of emergency in the city.
