FERGUSON, Mo. — We're continuing to hear from police, community members and especially entrepreneurs most impacted by Friday's Ferguson protest. As the organization founded in Michael Brown Jr.'s honor also responds to what happened last night.
Business owners told 5 On Your Side today they felt a call to action to try to elevate the Ferguson area after Brown's death. One owner said the protesters he met last night were there to reflect and remember Brown a decade later.
Ferguson police officers gathered Saturday less than 24 hours after several of their own were injured. St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell spoke briefly after getting back from the hospital of the officer most severely hurt.
"The toughest thing I've had to do is talk and console with a mother who doesn't know if her child is going to make it," Bell said during the press conference.
Ferguson police public information officer Pat Washington said they didn't deem Friday's activities as an unlawful assembly, instead focusing on a few individuals attempting to damage the police's fence.
"You have people in this community right now that are hurting," Washington said. "Inside these doors, are not just police officers they're husbands and wives and sons. You can roll your eyes and be disrespectful, shame on you."
Owner of the Hive Cafe in Ferguson, Maurice King, sat down with some protestors on Aug, 9 who drew chalk messages on his doorstep which he supported.
"There can always be one bad apple or two bad apples in a bunch," King said. "But, the individuals that came into my restaurant, that ate, that watched the documentary, I had deep conversations with those individuals. You can only speak from your personal perception, but those individuals weren't troublemakers."
Also on South Florissant Road, the owners of Latte Lounge + HG Eatery weren't sure what to expect over the weekend.
"We prayed over every business on the street that they would be protected because we know how things happened some years ago," Nyshaun Harvey, whose family owns Latte Lounge + HG Eatery, said. "It's about how we respond to things."
Kourtney Harris attended Friday's Black Ball: Sneaker Edition and the Michael Brown Jr. Unity Walk which lasted about four and a half hours.
She is a friend of the Brown family as well as a supporter of the organization 'Chosen for Change' founded by Michael Brown Sr. to help people process grief.
"Movements are movements," Harris said. "They are full of people that are passionate, who are angry. That are still trying to find a place to show that anger and get some type of a response. There are different modes of protest and different modes of bringing awareness and attention."
Chosen for Change is hosting a press conference on Monday at 11:00 a.m. and a community defense training starting at noon as part of the Youth Justice Day of Action at 1000 North Vandeventer Ave.
They want to focus on children growing up and feeling empowered as well as increasing tools to respond to trauma and conflict.