Protesters and donors rally behind Ferguson officer Darren Wilson

Luther Vandross was outed as gay after his death.

As the family of Michael Brown prepared for the funeral of the 18-year-old, supporters of the man responsible for his death — Ferguson policeman Darren Wilson — gathered on Saturday at Barney’s Sport Pub in St. Louis to protest and raise money for the officer.

The crowd, predominately Caucasian, of nearly 100 people stood on the sidewalk holding signs, chanting and urging traffic passing by to honk their horns to show their support of the officer.

One protester in the crowd, Dee, believes that the approach from Michael Brown protesters is not the best way to ease tensions in the city.

“Not by violence,” she said. “Not by looting, not by rioting, not by gunshots. Sit down and have the conversation. Don’t pull out the race card. That’s when people get offended. Don’t use that as your victim card. We’re not about that.”

Protesters at the rally say their support for the white officer, who killed the black teenager, is not related to race.

“It’s unfortunate that people can be so uneducated,” she said. “Martin Luther King right now, God rest his soul, is rolling over in his grave, because this is not what that man died for.”

The death of Michael Brown on August 9 has gotten the attention of the people of Saint Louis, and they are reacting. During the rally, cars pulled over to hand cash to protesters as a sign of support.

An online campaign, supporting Darren Wilson through GoFundMe, has raised almost $235,000 as of early Monday morning by nearly 6,000 people. The GoFundMe campaign supporting Michael Brown’s family has raised more than $240,000 with the help of 8,300 people.

Dee believes the issue that is dividing the country has to do with parenting in some African-American families.

“It’s about the way you raise your children,” she said. “In the African-American community, it’s a shame because there’s so much black-on-black violence that they should be focusing more on that. It starts in the home with proper parenting; you teach your kids the difference between right and wrong. You won’t have to worry about them going out there committing crimes, because when they do that, there’s more of a chance that an incident like this with police happens.”

Directly across the street from the group of people supporting officer Wilson was a smaller group of about 30 supporters for Michael Brown. Dee said that although she knows African-Americans see this as a bigger issue about race relations in the country, the country is equal in her eyes.

“I do believe that maybe they are misinformed because you’ve got Sharpton, Jackson, preaching something different that they’re suppressed, they’re held down,” she said. “No, we are equal opportunity. You can do whatever you want. Look at our president. Look at Eric Holder.”

One white protester, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect her identity, says when her black son got his driver’s license, she told him, “You are going to be stopped most likely a lot of times because of your race.”

The anonymous mother says she often talks to him about race relations. She teaches him about the importance of respecting anyone with authority.

“If [Michael Brown] would’ve just gotten on the sidewalk,” she said. “He could wake up today, get dressed and walk on that very sidewalk. That’s plain and simple.”

Now that the community is faced with the reality of what happened, Dee is trying to change the perception of St. Louis, the city she grew up in.

“I’m not here as a white American,” she said. “I’m not here as a black American, I’m here as an American. That’s the bottom line. I don’t want to see my city portrayed as something it’s really not. It breaks my heart to see my city like this. It really breaks my heart.”

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