Julia Ho

Julia Ho is a Missouri activist.

Ferguson protest leader

Organizers of protests planned in Ferguson are determined to see that it's peaceful. They will train people to ensure it stays that way, especially as they plan to close in on and "shut down" the town of Clayton on the first business day after the grand jury announcement on the Michael Brown case.

"We, as a community of people, we aren't going to use violent power," remarked organizer Michael McPhearson in a hall meeting of about 100 in St. Louis on Nov. 13. McPhearson is the co-chair of the Don't Shoot Coalition, and addressed the crowd together with Julia Ho, a community organizer with Missourians Organizing for Reform and Empowerment. Meanwhile in Ferguson, a similar meeting was held simultaneously, at Greater St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church.

More than half of the diverse St. Louis crowd was present during the initial protests that took place when Brown was shot Aug. 9 by police officer Darren Wilson, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. They agreed that four areas would likely emerge as hotspots for protest going forward: the Ferguson police station; the area near the QuikTrip that was burned the day after the shooting; the Clayton business district; and Shaw, the neighborhood where VonDerrit Myers, Jr. was killed by a St. Louis police officer in October. It was suggested goggles and gasmasks be used to protect activists from mace and teargas.

Underscoring what he felt was the importance behind the continuing actions, McPhearson said, "We're in a struggle that takes a long time to make things happen. In order for it to be a movement, we have to stay in it."