Around five years ago, Ferguson, Missouri erupted in violent protests after the fatal police shooting of teenager Michael Brown. The Ferguson protests were part of a wave of protests nationwide spurred by police shootings of unarmed black men and the disproportionate violence that communities of color have often faced. In this archive episode, Professor Ashley Howard explains what these protests mean, what their history is, and how new laws, policing methods, and social media are changing the way people demonstrate.

For More on this Topic:

• Check out Howard's interview in The Chronicle of Higher Education and her piece in The Black Scholar.
• Read her SSN brief, How U.S. Urban Unrest in the 1960s Can Help Make Sense of Ferguson, Missouri, and Other Recent Protests