Darren Seals

Darren Seals Jr. (May 15, 1987 – September 6, 2016) was an American racial justice, anti-police brutality, and anti-gun violence activist from Ferguson, Missouri^[1][2][3] who worked on the assembly line at General Motors.^[4] In September 2016, he was found shot dead in a burning car.^[5][6] St. Louis County Police are investigating his death as a homicide; they have not publicly identified suspects or motives.

Early life

Seals grew up in Ferguson, Missouri, a few blocks from the apartment complex where police officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown.^[7] Seals had known the Brown family since childhood.^[8]

Activism

Seals was active in Ferguson, Missouri, protests in the wake of the police shootings of Brown and Cary Ball Jr.,^[9] with his commentary appearing in media outlets, per CNN, "as he continued to be outspoken about racial issues after the Brown protests subsided."^[7] He co-founded Hands Up United, and The Washington Post described him as "among St. Louis’s most prominent anti-police brutality activists."^[10]

Seals had survived a shooting in 2013, and attributed his commitment to anti-gun violence activism to that experience.^[10]

In 2014, he joined the Fannie Lou Hamer Coalition^[11] and helped rally a movement to vote against the Democratic candidate for St. Louis county executive, by backing white Republican candidate Rick Stream. The move in the highly Democratic African American community was an attempt, as The Washington Post described it, to "demonstrate that their votes should not be taken for granted."^[12] He was an integral part of this effort. His leadership connected the community and politicians to move 22,000 Democratic votes to the Republican candidate.^{[citation needed]}

After voting for Barack Obama, Seals became a critic of what he saw as the President's insufficient action on many issues including police violence and racial profiling.^[10]

Seals was a rapper in St. Louis group D.O.A.; in their song "Born Targets", Seals criticized police response to the Ferguson demonstrations.^[7]

Seals was known as "King D Seals" on social media, and referred to himself as a “Businessman, Revolutionary, Activist, Unapologetically BLACK, Afrikan in AmeriKKKa, Fighter, Leader".^[13]

He was an outspoken critic of Black Lives Matter. He used Twitter as a public platform to call out the organization for taking in millions in donations from billionaire sponsor George Soros, and giving nothing back to the Ferguson community where they held protests against the police killing of Michael Brown.^[14] Seals' disapproval was founded in Ferguson's local activist sentiment that the organization hijacked their movement, publicizing it on social media as their own, motivated by personal, political, and financial benefit. Seals criticism was blunt: "The only thing #Deray #Netta or #BlackLivesMatter (the org) did in #Ferguson was tweet about our work and collect $".^[15]

In 2022, Riverfront Times published records obtained by activist James Cooper in which the FBI referred to Seals as a "revolutionary who has espoused somewhat militant rhetoric and has access to weapons." The records show the FBI had Seals under surveillance, and had even asked local police to briefly detain him. In the immediate aftermath of his murder, an FBI agent noted that "conspiracy theories are already forming that Seals was killed by the police because of his black lives matter affiliations."^[16]

Death

Seals was killed on September 6, 2016, in Riverview,^[17] a northern suburb of St. Louis. A homicide investigation revealed he was shot before he was placed in a car, that was later set on fire.^[18]

Media outlets noted "the resemblance of Seals' death to the unsolved killing of Deandre Joshua,"^[19] another Ferguson resident who was also found shot in a burning car two years earlier, on the night of the announcement a grand jury had not indicted Wilson in Brown's death.^[20] Police report that while Joshua's case is still open and active, Seals' death has not been linked to it,^[7] but nor has a link been ruled out.^[21] The Daily Beast found four more cases of similar deaths in St. Louis County in the last two years.^[22]

References

1. Swaine, Jon (15 March 2015). "'A long 11 minutes': how Ferguson police reacted to the shooting of two officers". The Guardian. from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
2. Nadeska, Alexis (November 26, 2014). "This Ferguson Protestor Tells Us What It Was Like To Hold Michael Brown's Mom In His Arms After Grand Jury Decision". MTV News. from the original on 7 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
3. "DOJ will not charge Ferguson officer in Michael Brown shooting". fox5sandiego.com. 4 March 2015. from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
4. Caulderwood, Kathleen (17 August 2014). "Ferguson: Generations Of Economic Inequality Fuel Violent Protests". International Business Times. from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
5. Stewart, Mariah (September 6, 2016). "Ferguson activist Darren Seals dies at 29". The St. Louis American. from the original on 2016-09-09. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
6. Mele, Christopher (2016-09-06). "Ferguson Protest Leader Darren Seals Found Dead in Vehicle". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. from the original on 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
7. Eliott C. McLaughlin (September 7, 2016). "Police: Ferguson activist found shot in burning car". CNN. from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
8. Charlton, Lauretta (November 23, 2014). "Before the Darren Wilson Grand Jury Decision, Three Ferguson Residents Share What It's Like in Their Hometown". Complex. from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
9. *Rakia, Raven; Hsieh, Steven (October 8, 2014). "After #Ferguson". The Nation. from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
   • Gliha, Lori Jane (August 9, 2015). "Six months after Michael Brown's death, is Ferguson still divided?". Al-Jazeera America. from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
   • Jamieson, Alastair; Essner, Chris. "Prominent Ferguson protester Darren Seals found shot dead in burning vehicle". NBC News. from the original on 2021-02-15. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
10. Lowery, Wesley (September 7, 2016). "Who killed Ferguson activist Darren Seals?". Washington Post. from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
11. Rivas, Rebecca (September 17, 2014). "Black Dems form 'Fannie Lou Hamer' political organization". St. Louis American. from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
12. *"Ferguson activist Darren Seals found fatally shot in burning car". Washington Post. from the original on 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
    • "Black voters in St. Louis County direct their anger at the Democratic Party". Washington Post. from the original on 2021-06-18. Retrieved 2016-09-07.
13. "Darren Seals Found Dead: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Heavy.com. September 7, 2016. from the original on June 18, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
14. Darren Seals [@PKingDSeals] (August 10, 2016). "#BlackLivesMatter making millions of off what #Ferguson started and left our city out to dry..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
15. @PKingDSeals (August 9, 2016). "The only thing #Deray #Netta or #BlackLivesMatter (the org) did in #Ferguson was tweet about our work and collect $" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
16. Krull, Ryan. "Ferguson Activist Darren Seals Was Surveilled by FBI, File Shows". Riverfront Times. Retrieved 2023-03-01.
17. Bacon, John (September 7, 2016). "Ferguson activist Darren Seals found dead in burning car". USA Today. from the original on 18 June 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
18. Savali, Kristen West (September 7, 2016). "Darren Seals: Ferguson, Mo., Protester Found Shot to Death Inside Burning Car". The Root. from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2016.
19. Pearce, Matt (September 7, 2016). "Ferguson protester Darren Seals found shot dead in burning vehicle". Los Angeles Times. from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
20. Healy, Jack (1 December 2014). "Another Killing in Ferguson Leaves a Family Grappling With the Unknown". The New York Times. from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
21. Bult, Laura (September 7, 2016). "St. Louis cops eye link between two Ferguson murders". New York Daily News. from the original on 15 February 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
22. Glawe, Justin (September 7, 2016). "Darren Seals Isn't the Only Ferguson Man to Be Shot and Torched in a Car". The Daily Beast. from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2016.