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The most obvious thing that Michael Brown, John Crawford, and Eric Garner had in common, besides being killed by police within the past month, is that they were black men living in the United States. All three were between the ages of 18 and 44 and were killed in different cities, from St. Louis, Missouri, to Staten Island, New York.

The shooting death of 18-year old Michael Brown in Ferguson, a majority-black suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, was the latest of the string of incidents. Associated Press cited a police report of the incident this way: “an officer encountered Brown and another man outside a Ferguson apartment complex, and … one of the men pushed the officer into his squad car and they struggled.”

The killing sparked massive and angry protests over the weekend with more than 30 people being arrested for charges involving vandalism and looting. More protests last night led to a standoff between police and protesters and the use of teargas by the police. Activists have been confronting police by raising their hands and chanting, “Don’t shoot, my hands are up.”

Now, the FBI has apparently announced an investigation into Brown’s killing over possible civil rights violations.

GUEST: Mychal Denzel Smith, Knobler Fellow at The Nation Institute and a Contributing Writer, The Nation magazine. Also, a contributor to Feministing.com.