Speaking from Martha's Vineyard where he is vacationing, President Barack Obama appealed for "peace and calm" on Thursday.

It was the President's first remarks on the issue since St. Louis teenager Michael Brown was shot dead by police over the weekend.

"I know that many Americans have been deeply disturbed by the images we've seen in the heartland of our country, as police have clashed with people protesting. ...I know emotions are raw right now in Ferguson, and there are certainly passionate differences about what has happened," said Obama. "But let's remember that we're all part of one American family, we are united in common values and that includes the belief in equality under the law, respect for public order, and the right to peaceful public protests."

Obama added there was no excuse for excessive force by police in the aftermath of Saturday's shooting of Brown, and said he had asked the Justice Department and FBI to independently investigate the incident, along with local authorities.

He said, "The Department of Justice is also consulting with local authorities about ways that they can maintain public safety without restricting the right of peaceful protest and while avoiding unnecessary escalation. I made clear to the Attorney General that we should do what is necessary to help determine exactly what happened, and to see that justice is done."

Since the shooting death of Brown, violent clashes have erupted between police and crowds protesting his death.

The governor of Michigan, Jay Nixon, will be visiting Ferguson Thursday afternoon.

On Wednesday evening, protests on a fourth straight day appeared to resemble a war zone when militarized police began firing tear gas and non-lethal ammunition into the streets towards private residences. Two journalists, one from the Washington Post and another from Huffington Post, were briefly detained while on assignment, and a film crew from Al Jazeera was hit with tear gas, and their cameras confiscated.

On Democracy Now! Juan Gonzalez asked Patricia Bynes, the Democratic Committeewoman of Ferguson Township, about the racial tensions within the predominately black community of Ferguson and its mostly white police force.

"So, we have a history of certain municipalities in St. Louis County that the majority of the population that live there are black, but due to socioeconomic reasons, they don't participate in the political process. And it tends to be a little bit more complicated in St. Louis County, because you have a level of municipal government, then you have a level of county government, you have a different political body for school boards. In certain areas you have a different political body for fire boards. And so people who are worried about, 'Can I get a job? Can I get to work? Can I put food on the table?' When Election Day rolls around, they don't really think about that. They hardly participate at the level of presidential elections; we know that that might be what they vote for," said Bynes.

Bynes added, "So, the people in the community who tend to be in a much better socioeconomic status, who also might tend to be white in those committees, they vote. And unfortunately, the school boards and the municipal, aldermanic or the council boards or the mayors sometimes look nothing like the community that's actually there, but they look like the people who continue to vote. And it gets frustrating, because they pass laws that are actually working against the majority of the population there and only help protect a small few. It's sad, and it's frustrating. It's been going on for quite some time, and it just seems like this has just been bubbling up for a long time."

Twitter activist FeministaJones decided four days ago to use social media to organize a day and time for a National Moment of Silence Vigil honoring the innocent lost lives and pay respect to those whose lives have been affected by police brutality. Four days later there are several dozens of vigils scheduled in cities across the U.S., organized through Twitter and Facebook pages and the hashtag #NMOS, that will take place at 7pm EST/4pm PT across the U.S.

FeministaJones told Latin Post "I think the American people are very interested in ways they can get involved in community engagement and in this process bring about the change they want to see for their communities. And its evidence by over 100 vigils around the country from Maine to Hawaii have popped up from people, not affiliated with major organizations, who took it upon themselves to do it. I love it and I'm presently overwhelmed by it, and very excited. It is an inspiring effort just to see thousands of people across the country coming together for one moment of unity."

FeministaJones said she received some technical support from Larry Stafford, Jr., and Scott Roberts of Freedom Side. The organizers for the vigils have been asked to work within communities as to what local laws are. and to do an assessment of community policing.

"Because our objective goal is that no one else dies of police brutality. No one is shot again, no one is choked again, little girls are not shot in their beds, we don't want women pulled from their homes and stripped in front of a dozen police officers because they got the wrong call. ... Marlene Pinnock was beaten nearly to death on a highway so we don't want that. So we are hoping people in their communities will build stronger relationships between their communities and the police, so we can never have this again. That's the goal," said Jones.

National Moment of Silence Vigils, #NMOS14, are happening at 7pm/4pm Thursday in 37 states, 91 cities at the most recent count.