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Amidst Nation-wide Protests, Activists Declare: “Black Spring” Has Begun

May 4, 2015 Lauren McCauley, www.commondreams.org , , ,
Fueled by the announcement on Friday that six police officers would be charged for their role in the tragic death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray, activists are holding a national day of protest on Saturday to amplify the growing call for racial justice and end to police brutality against people of color. "#BlackSpring has begun," event flyers announced. Last week, in the wake of Gray's death and the local protests and police crackdown that followed, solidarity demonstrations began springing up in cities across the country, with many more expected for the weekend. "This is not a Baltimore issue. This is an American issue," Atlanta resident James Camper, who drove ten hours to participate in the Baltimore rally, toldWashington Post reporter Justin Jouvenal. While some reports say that the day of action is being dubbed a "victory rally" after news that local police officers are being charged for Gray's death, others say that the one instance of accountability does not erase the countless examples of discrimination and harm with impunity against Black communities.

Jazz As A Force For Peace & Freedom

May 4, 2015 A. D. McKenzie, www.ipsnews.net , , ,
Against the backdrop of civil unrest in Baltimore, Maryland, the fourth annual International Jazz Day was celebrated with events around the world and appeals for peace, unity and dialogue. “Each of us is equal. All of us inhabit this place we call home,” said American jazz legend Herbie Hancock. “We must move mountains to find solutions to our incredible challenges.” “Each of us is equal. All of us inhabit this place we call home. We must move mountains to find solutions to our incredible challenges" – American jazz legend Herbie Hancock. Although the organisers of the event held on Apr. 30 did not refer directly to the protests that have followed the funeral of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray, an African-American who died in police custody, Hancock told IPS in an exclusive interview that musicians were conscious of this and other cases.

Newsletter: Be Devoted To Justice Not To Order

May 3, 2015 Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers, www.PopularResistance.org , , , ,
The announcement by State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby that the six officers involved in the murder of Freddie Gray will be prosecuted was welcomed with cheers at City Hall and in Freddie Gray’s community, car horns were honked in celebration. The welcome announcement is a first step toward justice for the family of Freddie Gray and a hopeful beginning for the kind of accountability that has been missing in Baltimore when it comes to police violence. This would probably not have occurred without an urban revolt in Baltimore. We won't know is it was the mass protest marches of thousands of people or the anger boiling over into rage that led to property damage or both that pressured leadership to press charges. Mosby said to the protesters: “I commend your courage to stand for justice” and “I heard your call for ‘no justice, no peace.’ Your peace is sincerely needed as I work to deliver justice on behalf of this young man.” And, to the youth who led the protests she said: “To the youth of this city, I will seek justice on your behalf; this is a moment, this is your moment. Let’s ensure that we have peaceful and productive rallies that will develop structural and systemic changes for generations to come. You’re at the forefront of this cause, and as young people, our time is now.”

Medics & Legal Observers Arrested At Baltimore Protest

May 3, 2015 Staff, www.citypaper.com ,
Video of medics, legal observers being arrested as prisoners chant from inside BCDC Minutes after the 10 p.m. curfew went into effect on Saturday, Baltimore police arrested several self-identified medics and legal observers accompanying protesters marching on Greenmount Avenue. Police allowed the medics to hand over their medical supplies to others to hold for them before they were handcuffed and loaded into waiting police vans. As the medics and legal observers were waiting to be loaded into the van, after this video was taken, observers heard banging from inside the adjacent Baltimore City Detention Center, and then prisoners chanting, "All night, all day, we gonna fight for Freddie Gray."

B’more Teen Turns Himself In, Faces Life In Prison

May 2, 2015 Truth Voice, www.truthvoice.com , , ,
Allen Bullock, the 18-year-old seen in photos smashing in a police car with a traffic cone, turned himself in after being encouraged by his parents. But now he is being held on $500,000 bail, an amount his parents cannot afford, The Guardian reports. Bullock faces charges of rioting and malicious destruction of property, among other criminal counts, after turning himself in at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center with his stepfather, Maurice Hawkins, at his side. According to Hawkins, who saw footage of his stepson on Saturday, the teen agreed to turn himself in after his stepfather told him that the police would “find him, knock down our door and beat him” if he didn’t, The Guardian notes.

Baltimore’s Injustice Not Just Police: Prosecutors, Judges & Prison

May 2, 2015 AbZimet, www.commondreams.org , , , ,
So much is broken here - the system, economy, community or any faith in so-called law and order in a city that takes more seriously the bustingof cars than the breaking of necks. When Allen Bullock turned himself in, his stepfather said it proved "he was growing as a man and he recognized what he did was wrong.” But he was aghast at the state's response, allowing as how "They're making an example of him and it is not right.” His mother said her son was out protesting because "he said the police were hunting and killing, not serving and protecting." As to smashing cars, she said, “He was dead wrong and he does need to be punished. But he wasn’t leading this riot. He hasn’t got that much power.” Word.

Baltimore: Arrestees Suffer Human Rights Abuses

May 1, 2015 Marci Tarrant Johnson, www.facebook.com/OccupySantaFe , , , , ,
More than 250 people have been arrested since Monday here in Baltimore. . . The small concrete booking cells were filled with hundreds of people, most with more than ten people per cell. Three of us were sent to the women's side where there were up to 15 women per holding cell. Most of them had been there since Monday afternoon/evening. With the exception of 3 or 4 women, the women who weren't there for Monday's round-ups were there for freaking curfew violations. Many had not seen a doctor or received required medication. Many had not been able to reach a family member by phone. But here is the WORST thing. Not only had these women been held for two days and two nights without any sort of formal booking, BUT ALMOST NONE OF THEM HAD ACTUALLY BEEN CHARGED WITH ANYTHING. They were brought to CBIF via police wagons (most without seat belts, btw--a real shocker after all that's happened), and taken to holding cells without ever being charged with an actual crime. No offense reports. No statements of probable cause. A few women had a vague idea what they might be charged with . . . .

Baltimore Mayor Vetoed Bill Requiring Body Cams For Cops

May 1, 2015 SM Gibson, www.mintpressnews.com , , , ,
“We also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that.” Those are the words spoken on Saturday by Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake that propelled her into the national political cross-hairs. Americans who did not know the woman’s name a week ago have called for her resignation. Some have even gone as far as to say that she should be charged with inciting a riot. Rawlings-Blake promptly issued a response on her Facebook page clarifying her original statement. “I did not instruct police to give space to protesters who were seeking to create violence or destruction of property,” said the Mayor via her social media account. Instead of growing incensed over a few words said by a politician in the midst of a crisis, we need to focus on what caused protesters and looters to fill the streets of Baltimore in the first place.

The Truth Is Not Being Told About Freddie Gray’s Death

May 1, 2015 Nick Wing and Jason Cherkis, www.huffingtonpost.com , , , ,
WBAL investigative reporter Jayne Miller had told MSNBC on Wednesday that her own reporting suggested Gray was in no state to behave in the manner described in the Post report. “According to our sources, by the time that prisoner is loaded into that van, Freddie Gray was unresponsive,” Miller said. “Secondly, we have reported [there] is no evidence, medical evidence, that Freddie Gray suffered any injury that indicates that he injured himself.” Medical professionals have also said the catastrophic nature of Gray's trauma suggestsit was not self-inflicted. Thursday's developments about the nature of Gray's injury don't necessarily change any of Miller's reporting. If the only factor in his death was in fact the spinal damage he reportedly suffered while in the back of the police van, the circumstances of that incident remain unclear. In fact, only one thing has become clear since Freddie Gray's death: The police aren't telling the whole story. And what they have chosen to disclose has in most cases left us with further questions, not concrete answers.

One-Third Of Baltimore Can’t Afford Ever-Increasing Water Rates

April 30, 2015 Food and Water Watch, www.foodandwaterwatch.org , , ,
A Food & Water Watch research brief released today finds that Baltimore’s current water shutoff campaign is indicative of bigger issues for the city: one-third of the city’s residents cannot afford water and sewer service. Because of this lack of affordability, ever-increasing water rates, and inaccessible, insufficient assistance to low-income residents, the city risks violating the human right to water by shutting off water service to households unable to pay these rates. Food & Water Watch’s analysis highlights a startling statistic: while the United Nations has established that affordable water and sanitation service should be no more than 3 percent of household income, one-third of Baltimore households earned less than $25,000 per year, yet paid an average of $804 per year on water and sewer services as of April 2015. That means that one-third of the city’s residents, or 80,000 households, simply cannot afford their water rates.

Baltimore Protests & Solidarity Events In 8 Cities

April 30, 2015 Jennifer Baker, www.revolution-news.com , ,
As protests over the in custody death of Freddie Gray enter their 12th day in Baltimore, solidarity events are scheduled to be held in Los Angeles, Washington DC, NYC, Boston, San Diego, Denver and Chicago. It is highly likely we will see more actions in Oakland and Ferguson as well. A call for all Baltimore College & High School students to meet at Penn Station at 5:45 to march to City Hall went out this morning. Members of Baltimore’s Latino community also plan to gather on Wednesday evening in a show of solidarity at 6 p.m. at the CASA Baltimore office near Patterson Park “to march for justice and pray for peace in solidarity with African-American brothers and sisters.” (all times listed are in local timezone’s).

Broke Cities & Broken Bodies – It’s Time To Make Connections

April 30, 2015 Matt Stannard, www.occupy.com , , , ,
On the evening of Saturday, April 25, protests in downtown Baltimore against the death-in-custody of Freddie Gray turned violent; according to many accounts, white thugs instigated violence and the cops responded to the response. The scene was ugly and tragic. Forty miles away, comedians, elected officials and media celebrities wore tuxedos and drank wine as they listened to the President of the United States joke about partisan politics. The juxtaposition of police-induced riots in Baltimore with the opulence of the White House Correspondents' Dinner led Ted Scheinman to declare: “If you've worried that the political class is out of touch with its criminalized underclasses, Saturday evening offered a grim case study.”

NYPD Violently Arresting Protesters During March For Freddie Gray

April 30, 2015 Jen Chung, www.gothamist.com , ,
The NYPD is on the offensive tonight, swiftly arresting numerous protesters marching in solidarity for Freddie Gray. Officers in riot gear violently shoved protesters to the pavement near Union Square in Manhattan, shortly after a rally ended and activists stepped into the street. Gothamist reporter Christopher Robbins estimates that roughly 3,000 to 4,000 marchers who were halted by police officers forming a human barricade just west of Broadway at East 17th. The police were "shoving people everywhere, knocked people down and started arresting people," he said. He saw at least 12 arrests, possibly more. Police have asked that protesters march on the sidewalk, but given the size of the crowd, that seems unlikely, if not impossible. The NYPD's swift and aggressive response to protesters' attempt to march in the street appears to be a departure from officers' more restrained approach during previous Black Lives Matter demonstrations.

Veterans Call On National Guard To Withdraw From Baltimore

April 30, 2015 , , ,
We know that the death of yet another black person at the hands of police is not unique or new in our country. We also know that the rage we are seeing in the streets is the direct result of a legacy of police departments and a prison system that dehumanizes and targets black people and people of color and the result of a morally bankrupt economy that continues to profit off of the backs of poor people across the country. We stand with those people who have lifted up the banner of #BlackLivesMatter to ensure that fundamental change takes place in our country. The irony of the National Guard deployment to quell protests due to the death of Freddie Gray at the hands of police is not lost on us as we approach the 45th anniversary of both the Jackson State and Kent State shootings, where the National Guard and police were deployed to silence protestors with deadly consequences.

Baltimore Shuts Off Water To 1000s, Ignoring Corporate Debtors

April 30, 2015 MintPress News Desk, www.mintpressnews.com , , ,
Detroit activists garnered international attention last year for the plight of their city’s most impoverished residents, who faced water shut-offs for unpaid bills despite the city’s high unemployment rate and collapsed economy. United Nations experts were among many who expressed concern that water shut-offs violate basic human rights. Following Detroit’s lead, Baltimore has started issuing shut-off notices to residential water customers with overdue bills. According to the Baltimore Sun, residents were notified of impending shut off if their accounts were more than six months overdue and they owed more than $250. The efforts have proven profitable: City officials report collecting $1 million from 1,500 overdue accounts. That total reflects only a small portion of the $40 million owed to the city, however. Commercial accounts owe roughly $15 million, and of that total, 40 businesses owe $9.5 million.
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