It does appear that for a variety of reasons Ferguson has touched a national nerve. In the past protest over police killings of black men have been mostly local and have dissipated fairly quickly after the rage and frustration was ventilated. From the time that Michael Brown was killed the situation in Ferguson has managed to hold the usually short attention span of the American public and the media. I will admit to being skeptical about the possibilities for doing much to change the deeply ingrained racism that is built into the structure of American society and the way that is reflected in the racial biases of the law enforcement system from top to bottom.
With all of that being said, I was interested to come across a joint undertaking by several media outlets to keep the issues related to Ferguson in the public attention. It is #FergusonNext.com. It is sponsored by the following media organizations.
Colorlines
EBONY.com
The Guardian U.S.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis American
St. Louis’ Riverfront Times
It republishes content from those outlets and asks people to contribute thoughts about solutions to "the problem". This is not likely to be a revolutionary development, but it struck me as worth noting and passing along for other people who might be interested in it.