Transcripts For MSNBCW The Reid Report 20140825 : vimarsana.

You know, a lot of folks, just regular folks, have spent the better part of the last 15 minutes trying to talk to family members, trying to hug family members. So at this point, theyre getting into their cars and theyre going to make that journey to a cemetery nearby where Michael Brown jr. Is going to be laid to rest. We should also note, joy, that the funeral itself was actually cut short. The funeral went just north of two hours. There were a number of speakers that were scheduled to speak that the family decided that it was time to cut things short. So there are probably half a dozen speakers that did not get up, some local politicians as well as state politicians as well. And craig, you know, this is obviously very surreal for this family. Its never easy, obviously. This family has lost a child. But theyre also doing this under the crush of media. I mean, can you estimate just how much media is actually there . I saw when they got out of the car, you couldnt even see the family as they exited their vehicles. There are justs so many cameras there. Thats an excellent question. Im reluctant to guess. But clearly dozens of outlets. Media from all over the world as well, we should note. The family obviously not talking to members of the media today. Theyre not doing interviews. I did have an opportunity yesterday to talk to Michael Browns parents. They were with the parents of Trayvon Martin as well. There was a peace rally held in the largest park here in st. Louis. As you reported off the top there, Michael Brown sr. Asked that folks in this community not protest today, not come out today, and at this point, it appears as if folks in this community have respected his request. Yeah, craig melvin doing some great reporting out there in ferguson, missouri, today in st. Louis. For anyone who missed that interview, powerful interview with the parents of Michael Brown as well as with Trayvon Martins parents. Were going to be playing a little bit of that later in the show. All right. One of Michael Browns cousins, eric davis, spoke during todays funeral as part of his remarks, he issued a call to action to his peers. We have the family of Trayvon Martin, tracy martin [ applause ] we have the family of jordan davis. And now we have the family of Michael Brown. [ applause ] we have had enough of the senseless killing. We have had enough of it. And what you guys can do to continue this is show up at the voting polls. Let your voices be heard. Any time changes come in this country, it has come through the youth and the young generations. State senator maria nadal joins me now. State senator, weve talked about this before. You yourself have said that the killing of this young man has sparked a sense of activism among young people in your communities. How does this continue, though . How do people continue that activism you heard called for behind that pulpit today . Well, i have to tell you, today is a day of closure in one part of everything going on, and today is also a new beginning. And so one of the calls today that you heard was that we cant stop fighting. We cant stop seeking justice. Were going to have to continue doing that. Reverend al sharpton said something that was really, really poignant. He said, people expect us to not continue to fight, but we have to be out demonstrating every single day to keep the experience that mike had as well as so many other young people have every single day. So i dont see any of this stopping whatsoever. We are respecting the family today. Their wishes were we do not protest at all. But were going to continue on and make sure that we have justice in one way or the other and also become civically active. Talk about what that looks like tomorrow. No protests today out of respect for the familys wishes. What happens tomorrow . The Lieutenant Governor was there in the sanctuary. The governor did not come, out of respect for the family. But what is the day two . Day two, which is also what i call phase two, tomorrow is a wonderful opportunity for young people and ferguson residents to go to the Second City Council meeting in ferguson. That is where residents can go and say express what they actually want. Do they want to have technology that has audio and video so they can have these recordings in case any of these kinds of incidences occur again. It means we also have an opportunity tomorrow and the time Going Forward to sit down with members of the community, white and black, and have an honest and open conversation. Right now weve been just sweeping things under the rug. A lot of our feelings and anger. And that cant happen anymore. One of the things ive been saying is before, if it were not for National Media being here, we would not know the temperament of many of the Police Officers in st. Louis county or the local municipalities, but this is an opportunity for us to be open and frank and just tell it how it is. So thats what im looking for. I dont want any excuses. My community deserves honesty and the truth come to light. All right. State senator, thank you very much. We expect to see that City Council Meeting full tomorrow. Thank you. Thank you so much. Goldie taylor is an msnbc contributor. Anthea butler is a professor at the university of pennsylvania, specifically a professor of religious studies as well as african studies. One of the reasons i wanted to talk to you today is that service, that Church Service, it was one part activism, one part church. And talk just a little bit about that in terms of the history of the africanamerican civil rights struggle, the saliency and importance of that funeral. I was really struck by one thing that happened in that funeral. It was a moment that one of the family members said that Michael Brown had been dreaming about death. Emmet tills mother had visions about death before he died. I was thinking about what she did. She opened up the coffin. She showed what happened to her son. And this funeral is in direct line with what happened with emmet till. So this political thing thats going on behind this, this funeral is not just about grieving the death of Michael Brown. It is a mobilization moment. It is a moment for people to begin to realize that this is just a continuation of the injustices that have been happening in america around racism for centuries. And the convergence of that, obviously, with the reverend al sharpton there, whos a civil rights leader and a pastor. Some forget thats his original calling. I want to play a little bit of what reverend sharpton said in his eulogy today and get your response on the other side. Can you imagine theyre heartbroken, their son taken, discarded and marginalized, and they have to stop mourning to get you to control your anger like you more angry than they are. And goldie, that was when rev was speaking to directly to people who have been protesting. Obviously he acknowledged most of the protests were peaceful. He was saying the people need to manager their anger as the family is. Well, certainly i believe thats what he was saying. You know, these Memorial Services are, i believe, more about the family than it is about us. So how families choose to grieve, who they choose to officiate over the loss of their loved ones is truly up to them. But what i think it the dividing line here is for me and reverend sharpton and i dont have many of them really is that people are going to express decades upon decades, generations upon generations of heartbreak, of anger, of overpolicing, of red lining, of the complicated, very diverse tapestry that is st. Louis county in a myriad of ways. And were going to hope, going to want that to be peaceful. But reverend Martin Luther king said, you know, that riots are often the language of the oppressed. So while we cannot condone it, while we cannot condone violence, cannot condone some of these outbreaks, we can seek to understand what kind of oppression drives them. We can seek to understand the kinds of systems, institutions that surround not only st. Louis county but many other municipalities in this country that leave people locked in, trapped out. So while at the same time, i have to agree with him while he says is this has to be about this family. This has to be about, you know, getting together and collecting around peace for a greater good. We have to give, you know, some a bit of a hat tip to some of those young people who really took to the street to voice their frustrations for the very first time. And, you know, coming off what goldie said, in listening to the choir singing, there is something about those gospel songs that speak both to pain and to hope. And that really is kind of the story here. Exactly. And we have to hope. Both of those things are being held together in those gospel songs. You hear the hope, but at the same time, you hear this pain of this hell on earth of what has happened to a young man who should have been starting college today. But instead, hes laying in a coffin. Hes about to be put into the ground. And we sing as though those who are, you know, not grieving, but we hope that were going to find justice. And i think thats part of what the Church Service is about. I know theres a lot of question for people about the talk about respectability and all of these things. I think everybody has a position about what they want to do. But the fact of the matter is there is psychic pain for africanamericans in this country. There are centuries of pain from slavery to freedom. And it is time that people realize that we cannot hold this pain in any longer. We cannot sit back and just call on jesus and its going to be all right. Its got to be more. Its got to be more. Absolutely. And goldie, those of us who have buried a loved one understand it is a unique and searing pain. But to have it be not ones mother or parent but child, its unimaginable. Watching leslie quietly rocking back and forth in the service, tell me what struck you. Thats what struck me. What struck you in this service . You know, it always strikes me when a parent has to bury their child. I dont know that there is a greater pain to be felt on this earth. So my heart certainly goes out to leslie and michael sr. But whats also very striking to me about this service was the great coming together of all walks of life. Rich, poor, celebrity, every day people coming together not only in celebration of a life but to press change and to talk about making collective action together once and for all to make real change in that community. What they did say today, and i found this especially striking, is that there are no perfect martyrs. And that we should not ask this of Michael Brown. That whatever his life was before he met officer wilson on that street, did it was that the reason that he died . Did he deserve to die . And i think thats the question that we shouldnt be asking in terms of, you know, how he lived his life. Was he at a Convenience Store before . Did he smoke marijuana . Did he engage in rap music . None of those things matters in the grand course of justice. Yeah, and just to wrap it up, anthea, because sometimes these deaths mean more than the person. Yeah, there was a lot of comment during the funeral about Michael Brown saying his name was going to be remembered. I believe that. His name is going to be remembered, but its going to be remembered as a turning point in this country, a turning point where we realize the injustices of Police Brutality, the injustices of somebody being looked at just because of the color of their skin and being deemed dangerous and hunted down in the street worse than a dog. That child did not deserve to die that way. He did not deserve to die that way. And all of us are going to hug our kids and cousins and everybody else tonight. Were going to pray over them and hope this same thing doesnt happen to them. In the america we live in right now, what guarantee do we have of that . We have none. We certainly will be watching as this goes forward. Were certainly going to be watching. Anthea butler, goldie taylor. Thank you for being here. And after the break, well continue our coverage with a look at the Ferguson Police department and how a collapse of a Neighboring Department brought officer wilson to ferguson. Plus, Kadiatou Diallo and nicole pal tray bell will be here to talk about what the brown family is facing now. [ woman ] the cadillac summer collection is here. [ male announcer ] during the cadillac summers best event, lease this allnew 2014 cts for around 459 a month or purchase with 0 apr. Hurry in this exceptional offer ends soon. Co until youre sure you do. You need a hotel room or purchase with 0 apr. Bartender thanks, captain obvious. Co which is why i put the hotels. Com mobile app on my mobile phone. Hotels. Com i dont need it right now. vo friday night has un and t the harrison household. But one dark, stormy evening. She needed a good meal and a good family. So we gave her purina cat chow complete. Its great because it has the four cornerstones of nutrition. Everything a cat needs for the first step to a healthy, happy life. Purina cat chow complete. Share your rescue story and join us in building better lives. One rescue at a time. When folks think about wthey think salmon and energy. But the energy bp produces up here creates Something Else as well jobs all over america. Engineering and innovation jobs. Advanced Safety Systems technology. Shipping and manufacturing. Across the United States, bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. When we set up operation in one part of the country, people in other parts go to work. Thats not a coincidence. Its one more part of our commitment to america. [music] jackies heart attack didnt come with a warning. Today her doctor has her on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. If youve had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. America, its time to deal with policing. We are not the haters were the healers that was reverend al sharpton, National Action Network Founder and president as well as an msnbc host earlier at the funeral for Michael Brown. With president obama on saturday ordering a review of the militarization of Police Departments in the wake of the crackdown on Michael Brown protests, which included tear gas and mine resistant vehicles, the question of how local police are trained to deal with sophisticated and Lethal Technology has become a much larger issue. Ryan riley was reporting from ferguson last week and joins me now. Theres a particular interest, of course, in ferguson now because of that heavy military style deployment, but the huffington post, you guys have been reporting that this particular police force might not have been, lets say, the best trained to deal with the community they were policing. Yeah, i think what weve seen is sort of a pattern emerge where we had a number of officers who had trouble in their past or problems in other departments end up in ferguson for one reason or the other. Its really a pattern weve seen emerge and a number of officers who allegedly had a history of even abusing children and a lot of problems in their past. And one of the people who wound up there, not saying he had problems there, but was officer darren wilson. How did he wind up in ferguson . Essentially, another Police Department that had such big problems they essentially shut it down and a lot of officers were laid off and lost their jobs, and officer wilson ended up over in ferguson. One thing when youre on ground there that strikes you is just how many different agencies there are. Ferguson is a very small town. Actually, the state senator you were speaking with earlier there covers 41 different municipalities. Theres a lot of these different agencies is running around. If you end up having trouble in one department, its very easy for you to find another job in another close by. And ryan, youve also seen all of these multiple departments policing the protests together. There was an officer from a Neighboring Police force named dan page who actually now is in some trouble because off duty he went to an oath keepers event and gave a speech in which was more like a rant in a quite racist fashion. Youve got that. Youve also got the piece youre reporting on about a Ferguson Police officer named justin cosma. Tell me about him. Sure. So it happened that he was actually one of the officers who took me into custody in mcdonalds. The story isnt really about me. This would have been a story regardless if i never came into contact with him. Basically what happened is he was allegedly in 2010 he approached a he and another officer from the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office approached a young boy, a 12yearold boy who was shirtless and checking the mail at the end of his driveway. There is a confrontation. Today allegedly choked him, threw him to the ground, and allegedly hog tied him. And this was a lawsuit that wasnt filed. The civil rights lawsuit filed in federal court in september of 2012. And it was filed, actually, just a few weeks after this officer had joined the Ferguson Police department. I should note we did reach out to the Ferguson Police department as well as the Jefferson County Sheriffs Office. We did not hear back as yet. And l