The situation in Ferguson, Mo. was brought up at the United Nations convening in Geneva as a part of the world’s check-up on America’s progress in racial disparity issues. Trayvon Martin’s mom and Jordan Davis’s dad were present. This is serious.

Just this morning Al Sharpton said, “while we lecture others about their police state, we can’t have one ourselves,” referring to the situations in Iraq and Palestine.

I have always wondered what will become of black and brown people when the Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson types die, but Ferguson has proven that we can fight for ourselves and take to the streets without an external prompt.

This has brought out a fervor in people that we have not seen in a long time, and I hope it spreads. I hope it spreads and lasts longer than the Occupy Movement. Progress never looks like we think it will. Sometimes it looks better, sometimes it looks worse, but it is happening. We may not be able to get justice for Kendrick Johnson in Valdosta, Ga., but if we can get it for Michael Brown and set a precedent, then maybe people will go to their words rather than their guns.