Michael Brown's funeral draws large crowd

Funeral services for Michael Brown, the unarmed Ferguson teenager who was killed in an altercation with police earlier this month, were held yesterday and attended by notable church leaders Revs. Jesse Jackson and T.D. Jakes, film director Spike Lee, several members of congress and representatives from the White House.  

In all, some 500 people attended the services at Friendly Temple Missionary Baptist Church, where speaker Rev. Al Sharpton criticized the militarization of police and called for African Americans to push for change. Hymns were sung by the Missouri Jurisdictional Choir to the overflowing crowd – mourners were able to watch the proceedings on television in an overflow room across the street from the church.

Brown died Aug. 9 after being shot multiple times by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson. The police have described the incident as a physical altercation that left Wilson with a swollen face, but others have said it was an instance of racial profiling and unnecessary police aggression. The protests that have become daily occurrences since Brown’s death have drawn participants from around the country and national media attention from scores of outlets.  

Read more from the New York Times.