Ferguson pauses for Thanksgiving as community seeks way forward

FERGUSON, Mo. - Protesters in Ferguson pressed pause Thursday to observe the Thanksgiving holiday, decorating boarded-up storefronts and gathering for church services and turkey giveaways in marked contrast to the previous days' outrage over the grand jury decision in the Michael Brown case.

No police or Missouri National Guard members stood sentry outside the Ferguson police station, where people have gathered to protest - sometimes violently - since Monday night's announcement that white Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson would not be indicted in the August shooting death of 18-year-old Brown, who was black and unarmed.

On the lightly traveled main street through Ferguson's downtown Thursday, efforts were underway to beautify the city, where dozens of buildings were damaged or destroyed by fire on Monday. Amid freezing temperatures and occasional snow flurries, groups painted designs on plywood that covered businesses' windows - in many cases as protection against vandals. A handful of others attended a church service, where a pastor pledged prayer for families of Wilson and Brown.

In downtown St. Louis, a group gathered near Busch Stadium for what organizer Paul Byrd called a "pro-community" car rally meant to be peaceful and counteract the recent violence.

Byrd, a 45-year-old construction worker from Imperial, Missouri, declined to say whether he supported Wilson but noted, "I totally support police officers." The cruise was escorted by a city police vehicle; no protesters showed up.

Since the grand jury's decision was announced Monday night, protests have taken place across the country. Most have been peaceful. But at least 130 demonstrators who refused to disperse during a Los Angeles protest were arrested Wednesday night, while 35 people were detained in Oakland following a march that deteriorated into unrest and vandalism, according to police officials.

In Ferguson, about a 100 people marched in a light snow Wednesday night, with no major confrontations or property damage, and only two arrests. Troops with rifles were posted at intersections and parking lots in an area where stores were looted and burned.

The footage people see on the news "is such a small bit of what's happening here," Kari Hobbs, 28, told The Associated Press on Wednesday. "There's so much donation and charity going on with the businesses that have been affected and the people that have been affected."

Still, Rasheen Aldridge, who has become a voice of the activist movement and at age 20 is the youngest member of the Ferguson Commission, tasked with repairing divisions between communities and those who police them, told CBS News "we're not out of the woods yet."

"We have to figure out how we start building that trust and I mean, that's an ongoing conversation."

Pastor Robert White, who leads a coalition of 35 ministries and Gabe Crocker, president of the St. Louis County Police Association, sat down for a joint interview with CBS News Wednesday- the first time they ever met - to talk about the challenges facing the community and law enforcement.

"We don't have that voice in our community right now that both sides trust," White said.

Asked if police trust kids on the street, Crocker responded, "No. And I don't know how to bring a lot of police officers to the table and get them to understand why they're having trouble policing minority communities. We couldn't put a young white officer and a young black man in the same room right now."

Asked if many of the young black men he deals with trust police officers, White said, "No, there is no trust. There is a huge gap between the civilians and not only police officers but elected officials."

What is the next step to stop this from happening again?

"I think law enforcement, in the coming years, needs to take a real good look at what they're doing in the mirror," Crocker said. "They need to look at themselves in the mirror and look at tactics, look at training."

"If we are talking about preservation of life, if we're looking for opportunities for all men -- what this country was built upon -- then all of us have to pull up our bootstraps and realize we made some mistakes," said White.

"I just don't think everything is the fault of the police, but I also don't think it's the fault of young black males who are disproportionately involved in crime," said Crocker. "It's a problem of getting these two entities to come together at the table and go, 'How in the hell do we fix this?"

Both men agreed that progress will come in baby steps, and that real progress will only come when all sides come together and have more of these conversations.