--- description: Frustration in Ferguson County after the shooting of a black teen has led to unrest. And the roots of anger are similar to those in the past. title: Missouri Riots Are A Page Out Of History Book image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8adbe53147d85f6/69869f81cd68487a950960dd/453583142.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Echoes of History Resound in Ferguson, Mo. Unrest by [Salima Koroma](/author/salima-koroma/) ## Salima Koroma Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 14, 2014 4:03 PM CUT  FERGUSON, MO - AUGUST 13: A demonstrator, protesting the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown, scrambles for cover as police fire tear gas on August 13, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on Saturday. Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, is experiencing its fourth day of violent protests since the killing. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images) FERGUSON, MO - AUGUST 13: A demonstrator, protesting the shooting death of teenager Michael Brown, scrambles for cover as police fire tear gas on August 13, 2014 in Ferguson, Missouri. Brown was shot and killed by a Ferguson police officer on Saturday. Ferguson, a St. Louis suburb, is experiencing its fourth day of violent protests since the killing. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)Scott Olson—Getty Images by [Salima Koroma](/author/salima-koroma/) ## Salima Koroma Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 14, 2014 4:03 PM CUT The death of black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. has once again raised questions about the use of excessive force by law enforcement. But on a broader scale, it’s brought back to America’s attention the often fraught relationship between law enforcement and the communities they police – especially when those communities are largely impoverished, and mostly African-American. A look at the history of race-related unrest in the U.S. — from the 1919 race riots in Chicago to Los Angeles’ infamous Rodney King riots in 1992 — shows that what is playing out on the streets of Ferguson is just the latest chapter in a long and troubled story. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3111412/ferguson-missouri-history/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3111412/ferguson-missouri-history/"},"headline":"Echoes of History Resound in Ferguson, Mo. Unrest","datePublished":"2014-08-14T16:03:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:40:25.417Z","description":"Frustration in a St Louis suburb after the shooting of a black teen has led to violence. But the roots of the anger are embedded in the past","url":"https://time.com/3111412/ferguson-missouri-history/","keywords":["Crime","U.S.","Law","Missouri","riots"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8adbe53147d85f6/69869f81cd68487a950960dd/453583142.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Salima Koroma","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/salima-koroma/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf8adbe53147d85f6/69869f81cd68487a950960dd/453583142.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Outrage In Missouri Town After Police Shooting Of 18-Yr-Old Man","caption":"Outrage In Missouri Town After Police Shooting Of 18-Yr-Old Man","creditText":"Scott Olson—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3111412/ferguson-missouri-history/","name":"Echoes of History Resound in Ferguson, Mo. Unrest"}}]}] ```