This latest death of a black person as a result of interaction with the police has caused always-simmering tensions in Baltimore to boil over once more. There have been protests, and in the last two days, more extreme situations have occurred, largely separate from the organized protests.
Baltimore has had problems with police misconduct for years, and Baltimoreans are very aware of the tensions and dangers this history engenders to black Baltimoreans.
Are You Okay?
Meg and I are fine: we live literally across from an elementary school in a largely residential partially-gentrified neighborhood.
What To Read
I’m not a reporter, and I haven’t been on the ground in these protests, but here are some pertinent links I think may be useful for getting a sense of what’s really happening in Baltimore and why. First off, know that numerically, the vast majority of the activity has been peaceful protest, and several protestor groups and individuals have put themselves between opportunistic agitators/looters and their targets. If all you’re seeing is video of looting and fighting, adjust your inputs. And remember how you thought about and framed video of uprisings in Egypt, Syria, and elsewhere in the world.
Here are some links to give context and food for thought:
Kate Briquelet on disparate groups allying to protest police violence.
This awesome dude in a Punisher shirt de-escalating.
Baltimore Sun expose on police brutality in Baltimore (from 2014)
Orioles COO on the cancelled game.
Baltimore-born Ta-Nehisi Coates on Nonviolence as Compliance.
Helena Hicks talking about Institutional Neglect in Freddie Gray’s neighborhood.
Tyler Reinhard on riot-shaming.
Link roundup and resources at Baltimore Uprising.org
10 images and videos from Baltimore from outside the dominant media narrative.
Where to Watch
Twitter is my best source of what’s happening. To start, follow @Shaun King, @Nettaaaaaaaa, @Deray.
Read Baltimore’s City Paper (The Baltimore Sun is not doing a good job right now) and follow the sites of protest groups.
What You Can Do
The Maryland Food Bank is going to be facing a ton of demand this week as people’s lives and schedules are disrupted. Baltimore City Schools are canceled today, a place where many children get their only reliable meals. And many parents will have to miss work today to take care of their children.
Update 4/29/15
Pingback: The Researcher Reads Up: Baltimore ¶ Amelia Aldred
Glad you and Meg are doing okay Mike, thanks for all the great links and also for moving here to Baltimore 🙂 it’s “funny” how nothing focuses the attention of a nation on a city in crisis like pent up frustrations boiling over into violence. Most political actors and reporters I hear pontificating about this latest uprising by the narratives and tropes they are using merely want things to go back to the peaceful and tranquil past that exists only in self-deluded memory.
I hear that – it’s a shameful reality that extreme action or national attention on a crime is required to bring the plight of cities where huge swathes of the population are hurting and in danger, and when those tragedies and affronts do happen, everyone wants to skip straight to the ending so they can move on to the next crisis.
But on the other hand, we did have the democratic presidental front-runner address police violence in a speech today, so maybe some of the major powers are waking up to the reality of the problems.