Requiem for Mike Brown
Last night, right before the Brahms Requiem at Powell Symphony Hall in St. Louis, brave singers stood up, and sang "Which Side are you on?" for Mike Brown, unfurling banners from the balcony, and at the end, before walking out chanting "Black Lives Matter!!", showered the main floor with paper hearts with the phrase, "Requiem for Mike Brown" on them.
This is some seriously creative protesting. I had friends in both the audience as well as on stage.
Just after intermission, about 50 people interrupted the St. Louis Symphony’s performance of Brahms Requiem on Saturday night, singing “Justice for Mike Brown.”
As symphony conductor Markus Stenz raised his baton to begin the second act of German Requiem, one middle-aged African-American man stood up in the middle of the theater and sang, “What side are you on friend, what side are you on?”
In an operatic voice, another woman located a few rows away stood up and joined him singing, “Justice for Mike Brown is justice for us all.” Several more audience members sprinkled throughout the theater and in the balcony rose up and joined in the singing.
I think many white, suburban, and privileged folks in STL think that the only people who care about Mike Brown are uneducated criminals. They comfort themselves with that. That people who know Classical music?! That understand the word Requiem! They care?!!!? GASP!!! Being a resident of STL for both the early part of my life as well as about 14 years into my 40s, I can tell you that this is a way of thinking there, and that this kind of action shakes up that kind of BS thinking and important to do.
The group was surprised by the response, said Derek Laney, an organizer for Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment. Instead of being ushered out in handcuffs by police, some patrons of the symphony — and some symphony members themselves — applauded the tuneful message. The group left on their own after about a minute and a half of singing, while they chanted “Blacks Lives Matter.”
“It went to show that there are people among that crowd who think that the protests matter and that it’s not okay to just kill black children, and they’d be receptive to hear that message,” Laney said. “It was a perfect moment. As we left, people were smiling and reaching out to shake our hands.”it's good to know that around the country even though most have forgotten already, and the Ferguson city council and chief of police and those that support the murderer re still trying to cover up that the spirit of what happened to Michael Brown is still alive and the peaceful expressions of remembrance will keep it alive for a very long time RIP Mike they have your back.
they say the Lord moves in mysterious ways, the murder of Michael Brown has opened eyes nationwide and almost everyday a light is shined on other police who brutalize and abuse those they are sworn to protect and also exposes the paid vacations of officers guilty with video of assault and homicide in the name of "PAID ADMINISTRATIVE LEAVE".
