By Jasminee Sahoye

St. Louis resident Camini Seeram, who lives about 15 minutes from where looting was taking place, told The Camera that Michael Brown was no saint and that most of the people causing the destruction were not residents of Ferguson.

“If I was dreading the holidays before, now I actually have a reason to. The goings on are not going to promote a holiday spirit,” the St. Louis native added.

She said a friend in Ferguson commented that unemployment in Ferguson before the riots was 17% for teenagers and over 21% for males older than 21 and that one in three homes are in foreclosure or have been taken due to foreclosure, creating severe financial pressure on residents.

As news spread about the grand jury decision, protestors set up shop in Allentown, PA, an area with a high concentration of Blacks. They were holding signs reading “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” and “RIP Mike Brown.” They said the protest was organized by LehighValley members of the Occupy and Anonymous activist groups.

An Allentown resident says he joined the protest to show his support for the Brown family and his displeasure with the grand jury decision, which he said sends the message that Darren Wilson and other police officers who kill unarmed people are above the law.

  Allentown, blacks, Ferguson, Mike Brown, Pa, riots