The August 2014 shooting death of 18-year-old Mike Brown immediately brought Ferguson, a small city in St. Louis County, Missouri, under a microscope. The unarmed black teen was shot and killed by a local police officer, igniting a wave of peaceful protests. Following his death, a lot of disturbing news started pouring out of Ferguson, including looting and police launching tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters and journalists.
Taking a look at these graphs, it's nearly impossible to deny that racism has played a huge part in Mike's death and the community's resulting outrage.
Now, if you're one of those people who thinks segregation is a thing of the past or that it only happens down South, you'd be wrong. In fact, according to a recent study by Brown University, St. Louis is the ninth-most-segregated city in the U.S. And since I heard you like facts with your facts, here's a handy Fact Check Time:
- Ferguson Police Department — three black police officers to 50 white officers
CBS Local, Vox(citing L.A. Times), Newsweek, and Mother Jones.
- 5,384 car stops — 4,632 black vs. 686 white and 66 other. Ferguson 2013 racial profiling report.
- 1 in 3 white people carrying contraband vs. 1 in 5 black people:
Ferguson 2013 racial profiling report. - Ferguson 2010 census — 21,203 population, 67.4% black, 29.3% white, 3.3% other.
Census QuickFacts; CensusViewer.
- St. Louis is the ninth-most-segregated city in the United States:
Washington Post Wonkblog via Brown University's US2010 Project.
These Upworthy original graphics were created in Adobe Illustrator using data from The Ferguson Police Department Racial Profiling Report, Mother Jones, Brown University's US2010 Project, and St. Louis CBS Local.
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