Ferguson, Missouri

The grievances still felt by many African-Americans are rooted in the life experiences of many of them.

In Ferguson  only three of its 53 police officers are black, even if the community is overwhelmingly more black than white. Or that 483 blacks were arrested in town last year but only 36 whites. Or that blacks, who make up less than two thirds of the driving-age population, account for 86 per cent of all traffic stops by police.

Nationally, similar instances of unequal lives abound. Median income levels for African-Americans remain about two thirds of what they are for whites, and black unemployment is twice as high. Penal incarceration is also disproportionately higher for black people.