Urban decay

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan was very quick to call in the National Guard and police from all over the state in response to the urban revolt in Baltimore; he went to churches to show how much he cared and promised to do something about the inequality between rich and poor, white and black in Baltimore. But his first act now that the revolt has quieted was to cut school funding. Baltimore school's have been historically underfunded, many community schools have been closed and students struggle to get the opportunities in education that wealthy suburbs get. Hogan cut $11.6 million that would have gone to Baltimore schools in favor of funding state pensions. To make matters worse the cut in education funding follows the state's approval of the $30 million construction of a youth jail in Baltimore earlier this week. Hogan should not be surprised if there are additional urban revolts in Baltimore. His actions almost assure it. But, his actions are not alone, there have been decades of economic injustice in Baltimore and cities across the country. And, they are a pattern of injustice that has occurred throughout US history.