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The US government is concerned that the protests in Ferguson, Missouri over the killing of an unarmed black teen may lead to an uprising by the African-American population in the country, an activist tells Press TV.

Omali Yeshitela, the chairman of African People’s Socialist Party, said in an interview with Press TV from St. Louis that Ferguson is functioning as a kind of “incubator” for black resistance in the United States.

“I think the United States government anticipates what has developed in Ferguson to result in a general insurgency by the black population in this country,” the activist stated.

US civil rights activists gathered in Ferguson on Saturday to begin a seven-day march to the state capital, Jefferson City, to protest the shooting death of 18-year-old Michael Brown on August 9 by Ferguson police officer Darren Wilson.

Yeshitela further noted that “the sustained nature of the resistance in Ferguson has pushed to the surface the violence that African people in this country have confronted... everyday by the police.”

Protests erupted across the US this week following a grand jury’s decision on Monday not to charge Wilson for fatally shooting Brown. In Ferguson, there were at least 16 arrests on Friday and hundreds more in other cities.

Brown’s death sparked weeks of protest during the month of August and further fueled racial tensions in the United States. Ferguson’s local government and police force are mostly white, despite the fact that about two-thirds of residents are black.

The United Nations harshly criticized the United States on Friday for the militarization of police and “numerous reports” of police brutality against minorities.