Black Caucus condemns Ferguson shooting on House floor

The Congressional Black Caucus took to the House floor Monday night to condemn the shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer in Ferguson, Mo. last month.

Monday was the House’s first day back in session since Brown, an African American teenager, was shot and killed by a white police officer on August 9.

{mosads}Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), who represents Ferguson, said that deaths like Brown’s had become too common.

“This much cannot be disputed: Across America today, we have too many Michael Browns. We have too many unarmed black men who interact with police and wind up dead,” Clay said.

“The resolution of that problem will only come through a painful, honest national discussion about race and our inability to address these tragic disparities,” Clay added.

Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), who represents the district where black teenager Trayvon Martin was shot in 2012 in an alleged case of racial profiling, said both deaths highlighted longstanding tensions.

“There is so much friction between police and black boys. That friction has been there for generations, almost since slavery,” Wilson said.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) said the militarization of police forces seen in Ferguson exacerbated the conflict between officers and protesters.

“This excessive use of force often provokes animosity instead of building the cooperation needed to combat violence,” Fudge said.

The floor speeches from the Congressional Black Caucus came a day before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee holds a hearing on the Ferguson shooting. The hearing will be chaired by Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill (D).

Clay pledged to bring justice to Brown’s case.

“I made a promise to Michael Brown’s mother that we would focus every possible federal resource on this case in an effort to bring justice for her son’s death,” Clay said.