You may remember Boston-based “Reverend” Osagyego Sekou from a recent story where he called Palestinians the “n*ggers” of the Middle East (and he meant that in a good way).

ST. LOUIS, Nov 14 (Reuters) – In a former union hall in downtown St. Louis, about 100 activists formed a rough circle and, at the instruction of organizer Michael McPhearson, crossed the room wading through a crowd of people going the opposite way.

“How hard was that? How much harder will it be after the grand jury comes back?” McPhearson, executive director of activist group Veterans for Peace, asked the group, which ranged from young black college students to bearded white retirees.

Police around the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, are preparing for large protests when a grand jury decides whether to indict the white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teen in August, and so are activists.

Several groups from across the United States, and even from abroad, are preparing to take to the streets in actions of nonviolent civil disobedience, particularly if the grand jury finds no criminal trial is warranted.

The memory of the violent clashes that followed the Aug. 9 shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown burns brightly in the minds of both protesters and law enforcement, especially after heavy criticism directed at the Ferguson police department for its handling of the situation. A gas station was burned, stores were looted and police fired tear gas and pointed automatic weapons at demonstrators.

“We are in a rebellion at the moment,” said Reverend Osagyego Sekou, an activist from Boston. “That means breaking police lines, non-compliance with police orders. It is confrontational but not violent.”

Activists are advised how to carry liquid antacid mixed with water to counteract the effects of pepper spray and even how to dress for unseasonably cold weather, with overnight temperatures expected to fall to well below freezing in the coming days.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri has rolled out an application for mobile phones allowing users to videotape interactions with police and share them with the ACLU as they are recorded, providing evidence that could be used in lawsuits.