The city of Greensboro and its residents have come together to rally and protest for change in support of Michael Brown and his family; however, a year ago the city faced a similar dilemma.

August of last year Ashley Buchanan, a graduate of Bennett College for Women became a victim of police brutality.

Following two noise complaints about a graduation party Buchanan was attending, police arrived to break up the party. In the midst of gathering her belongings, Buchanan was forcefully grabbed by an officer and then pinned to the ground by two more officers.

Buchanan was charged with two misdemeanor counts of assaulting a government official and resisting an officer in which she was found guilty.

“The show of force was way over done, way over blown. They really terrorized all those ladies there,” said Wesley Morris, 2007 alumni of North Carolina A&T State University, who now works with the Beloved Community Center of Greensboro, N.C.

“This was a very big community coming together. You had ministers, you had city council people, you had the president of the university at that time, Dr. Julianne Malveaux. Ashley stood out because she was actually an advocate for the whole city. We understood this as a case that needed to be known in our community, but we need to do a lot more work,” said Morris.

Morris, who has been profiled many times in the city of Greensboro, is no stranger to injustice.

“I’ve been profiled at least five times,” recounted Morris.

“Mayor Yvonne Johnson, the first African American woman to be mayor in Greensboro, actually went to the police chief on my behalf and told them to stop messing with me. It was just getting absurd.”

Now a year later, family, friends, and supporters continue to protest and riot for justice and peace, weeks after a black male was shot and killed.

18-year-old Michael Brown of Ferguson, Mo. was unarmed when he was fatally shot six times by a white police officer.

Protestors march with homemade signs that read “JUSTICE FOR MIKE BROWN” and “HANDS UP DON’T SHOOT,” which are believed to be Brown’s last words.

As tensions escalate, the Ferguson protests have rallied supporters all around the world.

“My life is necessary,” said Tigress McDaniel of Greensboro, N.C. quoting Connor McLean of Greensboro.

McDaniel was one of many speakers at the Ferguson rally last Wednesday in downtown Greensboro in front of the Civil Rights Museum. Parents, students, teachers and many others participated in the rally to show their support.

“I am an advocate of children of all races, colors, creeds, socioeconomic statuses and I’m really sick and tired of hearing stories like this,” said Ryan Logan a graduate student of N.C. A&T.

“It’d be one thing if I heard about a man who was doing something wrong and was chastised for that. I understand that; but because he wasn’t and because he was brutally murdered, he wasn’t just shot, no warning fire, or his name wasn’t called, I think it’s pretty heinous and terrible,” said Logan.

Jazz Elyse of High Point, N.C., Val Boston IV, and Scott Trent both of Greensboro organized the rally and rendered a call to action.

“My son shouldn’t have the same feelings that I have right now and the same feelings that my dad had when I was growing up as well as his dad. We all had the same feeling that we aren’t safe anymore,” said Boston.

“This is phase one of many steps. We are going to take a national call of action and this is going to affect populists. The greatest way to destroy a company or make them aware of what’s going on is economically,” said Boston.

Along with the city of Greensboro, students of N.C. A&T, Bennett College, and UNCGgathered in front of the A&T Four statue on last Monday for a peaceful protest.

Keyanna Morrow, a sophomore journalism and mass communication student from Salisbury, N.C., organized the protest.

“On social media it was a lot of A&T Aggies wanting to do a protest, but nobody was really taking the initiative to start it so I just did a time and date and ran with it,” said Murrow. “I felt like this would be a time to get us back involved in our community.”

The Beloved Community Center of Greensboro has created an initiative to monitor policing by installing a police review board in which they monitor the truth in record affiliation process.

“The movement has been around creating a group of residents of Greensboro to have oversight over the police department. We say police cannot police themselves and that’s what we believe. We have to do this police accountability work,” said Morris.

• Mija Gary Reporter