As I write this column, grand jury action regarding shooting in Ferguson is imminent. In anticipation of unrest, Missouri Governor Jay Nixon declared a “state of emergency” and activated the National Guard to assist local police with control of – well, I would assume the Governor is fearful of grim stuff like lootings, arson, and assault. Indeed, in his statement, Nixon said the Guard would be called to protect “life and property,” the sorts of things typically at risk when a substantial segment of a population is outraged by a perceived injustice.

And what is the perceived injustice? On August 9th, an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot seven times by white officer Darren Wilson. Forensic evidence suggests Wilson fired twice from his squad car, striking Brown once in the arm; eyewitness accounts are consistent that Officer Wilson then pursued Brown outside the car, ultimately shooting six more times, hitting the 18 year-old three more times in the right arm, and three times in the head, the last shot implausibly entering the top of the 6’4”, 292 lb. Brown’s skull, with the bullet traveling down toward his clavicle.

What precipitated this shooting? Who knows. It is known Brown and a friend were slowly walking down the center of a quiet Ferguson street after leaving a convenience mart and that Brown had rudely shoplifted some cigarillos from the store moments before. It is known Officer Wilson, unaware of the connection, came upon Brown and asked him to move to the sidewalk.

Other than that, the events are pure speculation based on one’s world view, really. Some posit Brown, stirred to anger by the Officer’s command, rushed his car, struggled for his weapon, was shot once, ran, and then turned again to attack the besieged Wilson, who defensively pulled the trigger.

Others, including a few eyewitnesses, say Brown was pulled to the car by Wilson, shot once in the struggle, then fled briefly on foot, turned to surrender, and was gunned down, the final “kill shot” cracking the teen’s skull as he fell helplessly to the asphalt.

Governor Nixon’s placing of the National Guard on standby suggests to me he believes it is likely the grand jury will not pursue a trial against Officer Wilson, and my world view pushes me to believe this will be the outcome, not based on fact or forensic reports, but on some unbroken American patterns. And the anticipated outcry of the residents of Ferguson suggests there is some history here.

We are a country who, with governmental support, constitutional protection, and the hearty defense of law enforcement and courts, enslaved, killed, and raped a population based on race for 200 years; and perpetuated that enslavement through social, economic, and physical violence for another 100 years, that is the history.

What does that have to do with Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014, you ask? In many respects, the vestiges of this checkered history remain, unacknowledged, unaddressed and unbroken. Ferguson, 67 percent black, is governed by a white dominated city council, white mayor, and police force that is 94 percent white. Avenues of wealth, power, policy, and influence are clearly still segregated, walled off on the basis of race; the drop-out rate at the nearby public school exceeds 50 percent. In Missouri, the state prison population in 40 percent black, not exactly reflective of the state’s black population, generally, which stands at 12 percent.

So please forgive me and my world view, that wholly expects the grand jury will NOT send this case to trial, a bitter irony given the countless numbers of black men who DID go to “trial,” ferried unencumbered through our criminal “justice” system, charged by nefarious white sheriffs, convicted by unthinking racist white juries, executed by states, all without a shred of evidence nor care in the world. (“To Kill a Mockingbird”)

What happened that humid August day in Ferguson? I don’t know. But that fact an unarmed black teen was shot not once, not twice, not five time, but seven times, heck, doesn’t that at least generate the dignity, the process, of a trial?? Can’t we at least admit to our history, recognize current patterns of continued abuse and neglect, and take great care in considering how to move forward?

Apparently, Governor Nixon anticipates otherwise. A safe bet based on history.