Father of Michael Brown to ‘stand strong’ with Bay Area teens

The father of slain Ferguson, Mo., teen Michael Brown addressed a group of San Francisco high school students Monday night, promising his solidarity during ongoing protests in the Bay Area.

Michael Brown Sr. told hundreds of students gathered at Mission High School: “I am here to stand strong with you all — all over the world — to make a change,” NBC reported.

Also speaking at the rally, which included a question-and-answer session, was Oscar Grant’s uncle Cephus Johnson. Grant was killed in 2009 by a BART police officer in Oakland.

The student-run solidarity rally was organized by the high school’s Black Student Union with assistance from the NAACP to give teens a forum to voice their concerns over continued protests and recent police killings of Michael Brown Jr. and Eric Garner.

“We understand that these killings are another injustice against all African American males,” Mission High’s Black Student Union said in a statement.

The younger Brown’s death has sparked a national uproar and debate over race relations and police use of force. Protests intensified after a grand jury decided not to indict white Ferguson police Officer Darren Wilson in Brown’s death.

Protests in the Bay Area, which have lasted days, have resulted in arrests and claims of police brutality against demonstrators and members of the media.

The elder Brown’s address to students comes after he spoke Sunday at Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, again urging protesters to stand up and fight for their rights.

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