#SolidarityforBaltimore by L’lerrét Ailith:
“Fuck your material possessions when you decide to snatch our lives. Fuck your Forever 21 when our black boys and girls never get to reach the age of 21! We’ve fought like hell for decent education. We’ve fought like hell to end criminalization and increased PIC presense in our communities. We’ve fought like hell for fair job opportunities. But now we’re fighting to Hell and back because none of that was enough – you wanted to actually take our lives. That won’t fly – not in Baltimore.”
Nonviolence as Compliance by Ta-Nehisi Coates:
“When nonviolence is preached as an attempt to evade the repercussions of political brutality, it betrays itself. When nonviolence begins halfway through the war with the aggressor calling time out, it exposes itself as a ruse. When nonviolence is preached by the representatives of the state, while the state doles out heaps of violence to its citizens, it reveals itself to be a con.”
Black trans lives matter, remembering mya hall: “Baltimore’s Transgender community mourns one of their own, slain by police” by Peter Hermann
Many organizers at the forefront of protests are women, despite men taking center stage by Caitlin Goldblatt
One Tweet Shows the Hypocrisy of the Media’s Reaction to Riots in Baltimore by Tom McKay:
“One tweet from American hip-hop artist Talib Kweli shows how the protests could and should have been covered: as a movement against police brutality so heartfelt and widespread that it united even rival gangs.”
Gang Members and Religious Leaders Unite for Freddie Gray by AJ+
Thugs. Students. Rioters. Fans: Media’s Subtle Racism in Unrest Coverage by Akiba Solomon
10 Images of the Baltimore Riots You Won’t See on TV by Natasha Noman
“I reject the narrative that #BaltimoreUprising are thugs burning and destroying property. Colonization burned and destroyed this land long before today. Thugs killed Freddy Gray. The original thugs were called founding fathers. We must dismantle all oppressive systems if we are ever to GET FREE! Gentrification is 21st century colonization and there will not be peace until after the revolution!
#BlackLivesMatter” – Lourdes Ashley Hunger
Why Baltimore Rebelled by Shawn Gude:
“These are the streets in which Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has now declared a state of emergency, the same streets that would suffer from his austerity. They are the streets that have endured astronomic unemployment rates for decades, even as Democrats have run the city unrivaled. And they are the streets where police folded up Freddie Gray’s body “like origami,” then restrained him with leg irons in the back of a police van and delayed calling for an ambulance… But police immunity and dehumanizing poverty can only coexist for so long.”
In Defense of Looting by Willie Osterweil:
“The history of the police in America is the history of black people being violently prevented from threatening white people’s property rights. When, in the midst of an anti-police protest movement, people loot, they aren’t acting non-politically, they aren’t distracting from the issue of police violence and domination, nor are they fanning the flames of an always-already racist media discourse. Instead, they are getting straight to the heart of the problem of the police, property, and white supremacy.”
7 Facts Everyone Needs to Know to Understand What’s Happening in Baltimore by Gregory Krieg:
- The city of Baltimore has paid more than $5 million to settle police brutality cases in the last four years.
- Victims of police brutality are forced to keep silent about what happened after settling with the city.
- In 2007, officers broke an 87-year-old woman’s shoulder after her grandson was shot.
- Police use “rough rides” to punish suspects on the drive back to headquarters.
- Just 28% of Baltimore city residents are white, but theymake up 46% of the police force.
- Four hundred and fifty-eight people from Gray’s neighborhood are in state prison.
- Fifty-two percent of working-age residents in Gray’s community are unemployed.
apis4blacklives 