The Tragic Death of Freddie Gray and Baltimore Police Have City on Precipice

By Doni Glover -Guest Columnist- | Last updated: Apr 28, 2015 - 8:06:23 AM

Freddie Gray

BALTIMORE (FinalCall.com) - So many thoughts flood the brain as this journalist has written many times about some of the most critical issues of recent times involving police brutality and Black men. Like you, I’ve watched on television as events have unfolded across the nation—all with a similar scenario: unarmed young Black man dead after encountering law enforcement.

This time, it’s home. As a matter of fact, right around the corner from my house is the Western District Police Station, site of protests on behalf of the late Freddie Gray. He presumably died of a broken neck while being escorted in a paddy wagon; he had cuffs on his arms and legs. Video shows he could not move his legs much as he was being hauled into the transport vehicle initially.

It could be quite poetic, one could argue, given the timing of it all—how this is yet another death that has garnered international attention. For one, the Million Man March is scheduled for October—just six months away—and Baltimore is but 45 minutes away. I’m thinking Baltimore will come out significantly for this march—especially given the death of Gray. Then, in twelve months, the current mayor—Stephanie Rawlings-Blake—is up for re-election. Many residents want former Mayor Sheila Dixon back in the fold. She is to Baltimore what Marion Barry was to Washington, D.C.

With all of this unfolding and Baltimore’s dirty little secret becoming material for every news outlet in the world, Rawlings-Blake is going to need more than money to beat Dixon.

(Top) Baltimore police in riot gear. (bottom) Protesters gathering at the Baltimore police station after the death of Freddie Gray. Photos: MGN Online

The bottom line is that none of these protests and associated activities should be a surprise.

There are countless names of Black men who have been killed by police in Baltimore, including Dale Graham, Tyrone West, and Anthony Anderson. Family after family—mother of murdered son after mother of murdered son—mourn the tragic loss of life.

As an urban resident, I am often perplexed at the people who immediately shift the conversation to essentially put blame on the victims. Nothing could be more ludicrous. Nothing could be more insane.
If you have two plants, and one of them you water often, you give it sunlight, you talk to it—but the other, you sparingly give water, hide in the closet and never talk to. Six months later, you set them side by side. What flower do you think will look the best, the healthiest, the most vibrant?

This is what happens in Baltimore where we have a preponderance of Black elected officials. The areas around the tourist attracting Inner Harbor get investment, but Black communities get very little. Recently, we got a new funeral home on the Westside and we couldn’t be more elated.

I personally believe that there are plenty of resources, but these funds never find their way into the Black community. For whatever reasons, the Black community looks like an underdeveloped country.

So, in short, the Baltimore City State’s Attorney will be presented with the evidence and will have to decide as to whether or not charges will be filed. She ran on a platform of justice for all. She spoke during her phenomenal campaign about prosecuting criminals. Time will tell the rest.

The April 27 memorial service for Freddie Gray.

I should note that I have come to understand that many of us in Baltimore have to see the bigger picture—that the death of Freddie Gray is a part of a continuum that disaffects people across the globe. It is not purely a Baltimore problem. The issue of race is still ubiquitous in American society and on many levels.

Elder C. D. Witherspoon of the Baltimore Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Council, said, “I think that people are expressing righteous indignation on the ground because of years of neglect on this particular issue of police terror.”

He added, “In our community, mothers aren’t concerned about foreign terrorism. They’re concerned about domestic terrorism that goes back to the days of slavery—taking place right here at home. The people of Baltimore feel that their backs are up against the wall and that it has always been open-season on Black men. We want killer cops to be fired and prosecuted. Freddie Gray was killed at the hands of the police, but really the system was responsible for taking his life. He was forced to live in a neighborhood with elevated levels of poverty, unemployment, recreation center closings and poorly performing schools. Many people in the same neighborhood where Mr. Gray was brutally murdered will have their water shut-off at the hands of the city of Baltimore because they are poor and unemployed and can’t afford to pay their bills. Seniors, people with disabilities and pregnant mothers are also being threatened with water cut-off notices. The community has been double-victimized: by the murder of Freddie Gray and by the socio-economic suffocation taking place at the hands of the city.”

Doni Glover is the author of the new book, “Unapologetically Black: Doni Glover Autobiography.” He also hosts a news talk program on Radio One Baltimore’s WOLB 1010 AM, is the publisher of www.bmorenews.com, and produces the Black Wall Street SERIES *NYC *MD *DC *ATL, a business networking event that celebrates Black entrepreneurs and professionals as well as the people who support them regardless of race.

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