The author argues that while the protests in Ferguson do not themselves constitute a social movement, they could represent a tipping point that transforms the broad struggle between liberty and order in the US. To be considered a true movement, the protests would need to embrace confrontation more fully to raise the stakes and risk personal commitment beyond just recognizing injustice. The shooting highlights issues of race and police militarization that protests against could mobilize as a movement if confrontation increases.

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Ferguson’s Place As a Movement (Or Not)
James Dyer
College of Charleston

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The recent killing of Michael Brown, a young African American in Ferguson, Missouri,
by Darren Wilson, a white police officer, has sparked both outrage and frustration across the
United States. But what do rhetoricians and scholars owe to this tragedy, which has itself been
repeated many times over in American history? Foremost, an ideological explanation of this
event is necessary in order to assess its status as “movement”. I contend that the immediate
effects of Ferguson (civil unrest, peaceful protests, and riots) do not themselves constitute a
movement, but rather a stepping stone in an age-old public debate between the importance of
liberty and the necessity for order within the United States. Using Cox/Faust, Cathcart, and
Michael Calvin McGee’s concepts about social movement rhetoric, I will argue that while the
broad struggle between liberty and order endures (and will likely always exist), Ferguson may
represent a key “tipping point” in the American public’s outcry against an increasingly militant
police regime and a system of racial profiling inadequately addressed in the wake of the Civil
Rights movement.
One would be hard pressed to ignore the racial implications of the shooting at Ferguson.
In order to establish a framework for the modern divisions we see occurring in Missouri (as well
as other parts of the United States), it is helpful to consult rhetorical attitudes regarding the
emerging social movements of the 1960’s. Cox and Faust (2013) examine Haiman’s defense of
“The Rhetoric of the Streets”, citing that Haiman “offered a justification of agitators’ “body
rhetoric” as a first amendment right and an understandable tactic that dramatized the injustice of
a law and, in the case of riots, catalyzed the process of institutional reform” (p. 86). Here, the
word “dramatized” also invokes the opinion of Griffin (2013), who surmised that studying a
movement was “to study a drama, an Act of transformation, an Act that ends in transcendence,
the achievement of salvation” (p. 88). In other words, the emerging social unrest of the 1960’s,

3. FERGUSON’S PLACE AS A MOVEMENT (OR NOT) 3
as seen in both the Civil Rights movement and the Vietnam protests, were understood (and
therefore validated) by scholars in a dramaturgical sense- a screenplay, as it were, between the
oppressors and the oppressed. This framework holds true today in Ferguson, where Darren
Wilson exists (to some) as the “actor” of injustice. Doubtless the current issue is now divided,
consciously or not, along the lines of race. According to a Pew Research poll conducted among
1,000 adults, 80% of African Americans “felt that the shooting raised important issues about
race” while less than half of whites surveyed considered the implications of race within the
context of the event. (2014). Clearly, this “Act” is defined by a rift between the role of race in the
United States and the impact of police militarism.
Defining a movement is a difficult business; as McGee (2013) points out, “movements
are not phenomena, nor does the concept “movement” explain a phenomenon empirically”
(p.108). To assume a phenomenon is a movement automatically dilutes our attitude, shrinking
our framework to the prescribed notion of what a “movement” might be. As such, it would be
unreasonable to make assumptions about or otherwise thoughtlessly categorize Ferguson as
a movement per se. However, if we examine the shooting at Ferguson as a phenomenon foremost,
we can place it within a more accurate context. The context that I have tried to frame this event
in is one of history, and the phenomena at hand (race, order, and liberty), offer rhetoricians
import distinctions between Ferguson and similar events of the past.
We might also consider the still fairly recent shooting of Trayvon Martin, which made
national headlines and raised questions about race and the rule of law in Florida. Ferguson might
be seen as an extension of that same conflict. Bryan J McCann (2014) acknowledges American
culture as one that stands fundamentally against the African American image. Writing for the
Western Journal of Communication, McCann notes that, “The Black body, particularly the Black

4. FERGUSON’S PLACE AS A MOVEMENT (OR NOT) 4
male body, has been widely construed as an object to be feared and, in moments of violent
transgression, harshly disciplined”. (p. 487) Indeed many who ally themselves with Trayvon
Martin and Michael Brown cite the very same argument, and in their call for action they
reference not the success of the Civil Rights Movement, but the incidents where its promises
have failed. For these reasons I pose a theoretical question: Could the events at Ferguson be a
tipping point for American society? In framing this question, I maintain that these protests do not
themselves constitute a movement, for they are scattered, isolated incidents which have occurred
over many years. Unfortunately, the current environment for racial protest is one of low risk (and
therefore, low reward). Yet it is clear now that the American Public grows more than weary of
racially charged shootings and the increasingly militant tactics of its’ police forces. It is not
therefore inconceivable to think that the events at Ferguson could transform the phenomena of
these social protests into a fully-fledged movement.
We know also that a true movement (if such a thing exists) occurs under very specific
circumstances, and success is not guaranteed. In an age dominated by social media, movements
do not begin from “the ground”. Rather protesters disseminate their messages laterally across the
web where the reach of their arm appears to lengthen, though we have seen that the strength of
such a reach is disappointingly weak. Here it is imperative that we take note from Cathcart, as he
makes important distinctions regarding risk and reward in social protest. It is the opinion of this
student that protesters of police militancy and racism must embrace the concept of confrontation
if they are to successfully mobilize an agenda. Cathcart (2013) reminds us that “Confrontation
serves...to identify the membership of the movement”. To be sure, confrontation, which is a
high-risk tactic that challenges the existing social order, is often necessary to legitimize the cause
and structure of a movement; if anything, it identifies and separates the loyal members of an

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organization from the pack. Cathcart further elaborates in saying that “Acts of confrontation
demand a personal commitment beyond simply agreeing with the goals of the movement or
recognizing that there are wrongs to be righted” (p. 83). The social movement generation is a
prime example of a non-confrontational group; they recognize that there are “wrongs to be
righted”, yet they do not appear willing to risk or otherwise commit themselves to a cause.
Already we have witnessed law breaking (looting, rioting, burning) as a measure of
protest in Ferguson. Peaceful protesters do not advocate such behavior, for they see it as a
delegitimizing agent to their message. Yet in the spirit of “confrontation”, we recognize that
working within the existing paradigm cannot solve some issues; rather the existing order must be
toppled, or in some way threatened to enact change. For reference, we might consider the Black
Panthers’ occupation of the California state capitol courthouse in 1967. Though they did not
resort to true law breaking, their tactics were shrewd and threatening- and most importantly, they
were an example of success. By entering the capitol building with guns, the Black Panthers were
able to “shock the system” into recognizing their agenda. Following the event, the Panthers, who
were a small organization at the time, saw an enormous increase in membership. Zarefsky (2013)
reminds us “Those out of power may so define themselves in order to raise the stakes, enhance
the drama of the situation, and impart a sense of destiny” (p.119). Ferguson protesters must find
a way to raise the stakes. To that end, the “Millennial” generation would do well to emulate the
spirit of the Panthers, for if they continue to rely on social media alone as an aggregator for
protest, racialized conflict between citizens and police will continue to worsen.
Ultimately, it may be that the events at Ferguson simply cannot induce real change
without embracing this notion of confrontation; “likes” on Facebook, “reshares” from twitter,
and graphic images in the dark corners of the internet hold only as much (or as little) influence as

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those who handle them. No risk comes from the smartphone, nor does confrontation come from
the computer, and rightfully no reward will follow from a protest behind screens.
Thus far we have discussed in brief attitudes and examples from several notable scholars.
In keeping with Griffin’s view of protest as a dramaturge, the curtain has not yet closed on
Ferguson. Even as I write, new developments are whispered through television and computer
screens, and the Act drags on. To again reference Cathcart, Ferguson has yet to become a true
movement, for protesters have not truly “confronted” the system that they stand against. This
confrontation may require a great overhaul in the way police systems are funded and connected
to the federal government, and whether this change shall stem from the rule of law or from wrath
of revolution none can now tell. With what little we know about the nature of movements (for
little it is, as movements are complex organisms), we can conclude that Ferguson represents an
old struggle. This struggle, based in race and exemplified through police injustices, meets new
concerns as the public increasingly witnesses tanks and SWAT teams regularly storming city
streets. Americans have been raised in skepticism against Authority from their earliest days, and
post-modern paranoia coupled with the ebb and flow of racial incidents like Ferguson may some
day soon enact the very confrontation needed to once and for all change a system that
perpetuates racialized civil unrest.

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References
(2014). Study Shows Sharp Racial Divide in Reaction to Ferguson [Radio series episode]. In All
Things Considered (NPR).Audie Cornish, Carroll Doherty.
Cathcart, R., & Morris III, C. (2013). Theoretical Foundations and New Directions. In S. Browne
(Ed.), Readings on the Rhetoric of Social Protest (3rd ed., p. 83). State College, PA:
Strata Publishing.
Cox, R., Faust, C., Morris III, C., & Browne, S. (2013). Theoretical Foundations and New
Directions. In Readings on the Rhetoric of Social Protest (3rd ed., p. 86). State College,
PA: Strata Publishing.
Griffin, L., Cox, R., Foust, C., Morris III, C., & Browne, S. (2013). Theoretical Foundations and
New Directions. In Readings on the Rhetoric of Social Protest (3rd ed., p. 88). State
College, PA: Strata Publishing.
McGee, M., Morris III, C., & Browne, S. (2013). Competing Perspectives. In Readings on the
Rhetoric of Social Protest (3rd ed., p. 109). State College, PA: Strata Publishing.
Stark Racial Divisions in Reactions to Ferguson Police Shooting. (2014, August 19). Retrieved
September 21, 2014, from http://www.people-press.org/2014/08/18/stark-racial-
divisions-in-reactions-to-ferguson-police-shooting/2/
McCann, B. (2014). On Whose Ground? Racialized Violence and the Prerogative of “Self-
Defense” in the Trayvon Martin Case. Western Journal of Communication, 78(4), 480-
499. Retrieved from Communication Complete.
Zarefsky, D., Morris III, C., & Browne, S. (2013). Competing Perspectives. In Readings on the
Rhetoric of Social Protest (3rd ed., p. 119). State College, PA: Strata Publishing

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