article_snippet: (CNN)If you were the member of a minority group and tried to create a system to control and oppress the majority, you could not have done a better job than the white leaders of Ferguson, Missouri.
article_snippet: Ferguson is small -- roughly 20,000 residents -- and is 67% black and 29% white.
article_snippet: Over the past decade, Ferguson's population has changed from majority white to majority black.
article_snippet: Five of six City Council members are white, as is the city's mayor.
article_snippet: How does this happen in a city two-thirds black?
article_snippet: That is how a majority-black population winds up with almost all-white elected representatives.
article_snippet: Ferguson's law enforcement officers are also not representative, with roughly 94% of Ferguson's law enforcement officers police force being white.
article_snippet: In 2013, Ferguson had the highest number of warrants issued in the state, when you control for size: 3.6 pending arrest warrants per household and 2.2 arrest warrants on average per person.
article_snippet: And 95% of people arrested for jaywalking in Ferguson are black.
article_snippet: While 67% of the population is black, 86% of vehicle stops involve a black driver.
article_snippet: While 29% of the population is white, 12.9% of vehicle stops involve a white driver.
article_snippet: Blacks were almost twice as likely to be searched as whites, even though searches of blacks were less likely than whites to result in contraband being found (21% vs. 34%).
highlights_snippet: Ferguson political system has been effective at oppressing majority .
  