Transformative Justice in Ferguson

As our nation waits for the grand jury's decision on the shooting death of Michael Brown by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, we will find no shortage of views on what justice demands in this and similar situations of racial divisions. In one obvious respect, justice in Ferguson could mean the conviction of the white officer who shot this black teenager. This is a determination based on the facts of this case, which may be emblematic but separate from the larger question of racial justice for all. A charge or no charge in this case, as symbolic as both might be and as much relief as it would provide those aggrieved by this tragedy, will not likely lead to a systematic change in how Ferguson or any other city addresses racial relations. In any case, justice should not stop here. This moment requires larger societal transformation.