Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Holocaust Survivor Hedy Epstein, Arrested in Ferguson Protest, Says Racism Is Alive in America

Holocaust Survivor Hedy Epstein, Arrested in Ferguson Protest, Says Racism Is Alive in America: Hedy Epstein turned 90 on August 15, and she spent much of last week celebrating. Friends and family traveled to her home in St. Louis, Missouri, to join in the festivities—so many of them, in fact, that it wasn’t until yesterday that she finally had a day to herself. Epstein left her home in the afternoon, accidentally leaving her cell phone behind. By around 4:30pm, she’d been arrested.

A human rights activist and Holocaust survivor, Epstein had been following the unrest in nearby Ferguson, where an unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot and killed by police on August 9. Ever since, tensions have escalated. Protesters have taken to the streets for nine consecutive nights. Reporters have been arrested and threatened. There have been scattered reports of gunshots, looting and fires, plus countless photos and videos showing an over-militarized police force firing rubber bullets and tear gas into the crowds.