But the purpose of the Ferguson protests was not to win the right to protest, as renewed tension has shown. On Friday, the police department identified the white officer who shot Brown as Darren Wilson, but they also released surveillance video allegedly showing Brown participating in a “strong-arm robbery” minutes before the shooting, causing a fresh wave of outrage in the community. The autopsy still has not been released. By early Saturday morning, "protesters barricaded a major thoroughfare and police officers in riot gear quickly responded, prompting a standoff," The New York Times reports. The case—and the pain it has caused—is far from being resolved.

In part, this may be because one of the most significant underlying causes of the unrest hasn’t been addressed: allegations of racial profiling.

The civic infrastructure of Ferguson has not kept pace with its shifting demographics. In 1990, the town was three-quarters white. Twenty years later, white people made up only 30 percent of the population.

Now, Ferguson’s population is two-thirds black. Its more-than-50-person police force includes just three black officers. In 2013, black people accounted for 86 percent of all traffic stops and 92 percent of searches and arrests.

Ferguson’s figures are not much different than many municipalities in the St. Louis area—and they’re actually better than the statewide average. But residents say profiling in the city is severe.

Anthony Johnson lives in the Canfield Green Apartments, where Mike Brown lived and where he was gunned down in the street. Tattooed below Johnson’s right eye is a pair of tear drops, a tribute to his parents. His father was shot and killed when he was 10. His mom died in a car accident on Mother’s Day. Standing on the lawn of the apartment complex, he said police harassment is a regular part of life here. Cops often stop him on the street and ask where he’s going. Sometimes, they’ll pick him up by mistake, looking for a different black man. He knows not to walk around the neighborhood after a certain time at night, to avoid being stopped, interrogated, and asked for identification. “Why should I have to show ID if I’m just walking down the street?” he asked. “It just don’t make no sense. It’s sad that it took an incident like this to shed some light on the Ferguson police.”

One particularly appalling incident came in 2009, when Ferguson police picked up a 52-year-old named Henry Davis, as recently reported by The Daily Beast. He was arrested by mistake. The warrant had been for another man with the same last name. But rather than police setting him free, Davis was charged with “property damage” because he had bled on an officer’s uniform.

On Monday night, there was a second, less publicized police shooting in Ferguson. A man allegedly pulled a gun on an officer and was shot multiple times. He ended up in critical condition.