Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts tagged as “Baltimore”

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake Calls For Department Of Justice To Investigate Police Department

By goodblacknews on May 6, 2015

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake

A day after U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch visited Baltimore in the wake of unrest after Freddie Gray died of fatal injuries received in police custody, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the city’s embattled police department, according to a live report on CNN.
Lynch visited the city on Tuesday and attended a series of meetings with the mayor, embattled Police Commissioner Anthony Batts, and members of Gray’s family, reports The Baltimore Sun. Gray’s death reinflamed nationwide tensions over police brutality in Black communities, sparking sometimes violent protests last week.
Justice Department spokesperson Dena Iverson released a statement Wednesday regarding the possible DOJ investigation:
“The Attorney General has received Mayor Rawlings-Blake’s request for a Civil Rights Division ‘pattern or practice’ investigation into the Baltimore Police Department.  The Attorney General is actively considering that option in light of what she heard from law enforcement, city officials, and community, faith and youth leaders in Baltimore yesterday.”
Rawlings-Blake’s announcement follows a bold move last week by Baltimore City State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby to bring charges against six police officers in Gray’s death, which has been ruled a homicide.
article by Lynette Holloway via newsone.com

Prince to Play "Rally 4 Peace" Concert in Baltimore this Sunday

By goodblacknews on May 6, 2015

Prince at the Grammy Awards in February.
Prince at the Grammy Awards in February. (Credit: John Shearer/Invision, via Associated Press)

A protest song was not enough.

Days after announcing his song “Baltimore,” a tribute to Freddie Gray, the 25-year-old who suffered a fatal spinal-cord injury while in police custody, Prince has announced a surprise “Rally 4 Peace” concert in Baltimore. It will be held Sunday at Royal Farms Arena.

“In a spirit of healing, the event is meant to be a catalyst for pause and reflection following the outpouring of violence that has gripped Baltimore and areas throughout the U.S.,” Live Nation, the concert promoter, said in a statement. “As a symbolic message of our shared humanity and love for one another, attendees are invited to wear something gray in tribute to all those recently lost in the violence.”

Tickets go on sale today at 5 p.m. EST at LiveNation.com. Part of the proceeds will benefit Baltimore youth charities, organizers said.

While “Baltimore” has yet to be released — Prince said he was considering streaming the track on Jay Z’s Tidal service — its lyrics were made available online. The song begins:

Nobody got in nobody’s way

So I guess you could say

It was a good day

At least a little better than the day in Baltimore

Does anybody hear us pray?

For Michael Brown or Freddie Gray

Peace is more than the absence of war

Absence of war

article by Joe Coscarelli via nytimes.com

Baltimore Big Brothers Program Sees 3,000 Percent Increase in Mentorship Requests

By goodblacknews on May 4, 2015

Big Brothers of Baltimore announcing that inquiries were up 3000 percent in 36 hours following unrest. (Photo: BBBS GREAT CHESAPEAKE)

In just 36 hours, following shocking television images of youths rioting in the streets, the Baltimore chapter of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America has received the largest surge in mentor applicants in the organization’s history — a whopping 3,000 percent increase.

That spike in interest is unprecedented, President and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake Terry Hickey told NBC News.

“To have people reach out and say, ‘I want to make a commitment for the next year of my life spending every week with a young man or woman,’ is blowing my mind actually,” said Hickey.

The organization has received over 500 mentor inquiries in the past few days, compared to the usual four to five inquiries a day.

“I was worried people would see the images on TV of young people looting… you don’t know how people are going to react to the image of young teens running through the streets,” Hickey said. “But people are having their own epiphany, they are saying, ‘It just dawned on me that by being an adult in one kid’s life I can make a real difference.'”

Hickey attributes this realization to all of the young people he has seen interviewed in the media expressing that they do not have adults in their lives who they feel listen to them and who they can trust.

“I’m hoping this means people aren’t about blaming kids for what’s happened, but are recognizing that mentoring needs to be right up there at the top of the list when you talk about building communities,” he said.

Interest in the Big Brothers Big Sisters program surged after protests erupted in Baltimore in response to the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray who was killed in police custody.

Baltimore City State’s Attorney, Marilyn Mosby, announced Friday that Gray’s death was ruled a homicide and other charges would be brought against the six Baltimore police who had contact with Gray.

In the past, Hickey said, it has been hard to recruit a significant number of volunteers, leaving more than 600 children in Baltimore city on the organization’s waiting list. The increase in mentors will help remove some of these children from the waiting list.

According to a press release from Big Brothers Big Sisters, national research found that after 18 months of spending time with their “Bigs,” Little Brothers and Little Sisters were 46 percent less likely to use illegal drugs, 27 percent less likely to begin using alcohol, 52 percent less likely to skip school and 33 percent less likely to hit someone, as compared to those children not in the program.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Chesapeake — which includes Baltimore — founded in 1952, is the oldest and largest youth mentoring organization in the State of Maryland.

article by Tracy Jarrett via nbcnews.com

“I’m Here For You”: Black Baltimore Police Sergeant K Glanville Gives Moving Speech To Protesters (VIDEO)

By goodblacknews on May 4, 2015

Baltimore Police Sgt. K. Glanville (Photo via YouTube)
Baltimore Police Sgt. K. Glanville addresses group of peaceful protesters. (Photo via YouTube)

A police officer’s kind words during a period of unrest over the death of Freddie Gray touched many across Baltimore, who have for so long witnessed police violence in their communities.
Sgt. K Glanville spoke to a crowd on Saturday during a festive rally about her role as a police officer and expressed that not all officers are in the business of harming unarmed civilians. Glanville retold stories of her encounters with pedestrians in the city and says she understands why so many have questioned the tactics of police officers.
The mother says she gives out her number to children in an effort to show she is a protector of the community. According to the Huffington Post,

“My heart is in this,” Glanville told a small crowd. “I’m not wasting time on someone that’s not trying to let me in, when I got all these other people that got the door wide open, saying ‘Sgt. Glanville, please step in.’ I am here, I’m available. I give kids my phone number, I tell people ‘you need something, you call me.’ It all starts with relationship building.”

A Baltimore native and a 19-year veteran, the officer has never received a complaint. Her speech brought tears to the eyes of many in the small crowd. Glanville told onlookers that everyone has to start working together to stop the problem of police violence.

”We have to start doing better,” Glanville told the crowd. “We know better, and we have to start doing better. It doesn’t matter what color you are. People are watching to see the next move that Baltimore makes coming out of this … I want other cities to look at this and be able to see a template….And the main thing we need to do is make sure these babies are ok.”

The following day, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced the overnight curfew would be lifted effective immediately. In a statement, Rawlings-Blake expressed that the curfew had helped reduce violence in the city following last Monday’s riots after Gray’s funeral.
Check out Glanville’s speech to the city of Baltimore below:
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVAIUs83VBE&w=560&h=315]
article by Desire Thompson via globalgrind.com

Home of Civil Rights Pioneer Pauli Murray Designated a “National Treasure”

By goodblacknews on May 3, 2015

Civil Rights Pioneer Pauli Murray (Photo via thegrio.com)
Civil Rights Pioneer Pauli Murray (Photo via thegrio.com)

The National Trust for Historical Preservation has designated the childhood home of Pauli Murray in Durham, North Carolina, a “National Treasure.”
A native of Baltimore, Pauli Murray was orphaned at age 13. She went to Durham, North Carolina to live with an aunt. After graduating from high school at the age of 16, she enrolled in Hunter College in New York City. She was forced to drop out of school at the onset of the Great Depression. In 1938, she mounted an unsuccessful legal effort to gain admission to the all-white University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In 1940, 15 years earlier than Rosa Parks, Murray was arrested for refusing to sit in the back of a bus in Virginia.
PMC-House-SignMurray enrolled at the Howard University in 1941 and earned her degree in 1944. She later graduated from the Boalt Hall Law School at the University of California at Berkeley. She became a leader of the civil rights movement and was critical of its leadership for not including more women in their ranks.
The Pauli Murray Project at Duke University has been working to restore the home and the federal designation may help secure additional funds for this purpose. The group hopes to make the home into a museum.
In 1977, Murray, at the age of 66, was ordained a priest of the Episcopal Church. She died in Pittsburgh in 1985.
article via jbhe.com
 

FEATURE: Meet Marilyn Mosby, State Attorney Overseeing The Freddie Gray Investigation

By goodblacknews on May 2, 2015

Marilyn Mosby
Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby (Photo via hello beautiful.com)

Baltimore State Attorney Marilyn Mosby is the person in charge of the investigation of Freddie Gray’s death. Gray suffered a spinal injury while he was in custody of six Baltimore officers, who have been charged in his death.
Though locally well-known, Mosby’s announcement of the charges was the first time she’s been prominent in the national news.  She started as an insurance company attorney and got a surprising and deserved win last November, so this is her first stint as an elected official. She beat out incumbent Gregg Bernstein by portraying herself as a crime crusader, determined to keep repeat offenders off the streets.

It was the murder of Mosby’s 17-year-old cousin back in 1994 that helped her see that she wanted a career in criminal justice. “I learned very early on that the criminal justice system isn’t just the police, the judges and the state’s attorney,” CNN quoted her as saying. “It’s much more than that. I believe that we are the justice system. We, the members of the community, are the justice system because we are the victims of crimes.”

Baltimore Photographer Devin Allen Captures Uprising In Touching TIME Cover Photo

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015

An amateur photographer from Baltimore is being celebrated for his photos taken during the recent demonstrations in the name of Freddie Gray. His images are so touching, in fact, that the 26-year-old’s work is featured on the latest cover of TIME Magazine.
Screen Shot 2015-05-01 at 7.46.24 PM
Devin Allen’s photos were first spotted on Instagram and spread from celebrities’ profiles (like Rihanna) to international organizations. The father of one, who has explored photography for three years, says he’s heartened by how his photos are being embraced online. After being circulated earlier this week, his image of a protester running from a huge amount of police was chosen as the cover of TIME.

“For me, who’s from Baltimore city, to be on the cover of TIME Magazine, I don’t even know what to say. I’m speechless,” says Allen. “It’s amazing. It’s life changing for me. It’s inspiring me to go further. It gives me hope and it gives a lot of people around me hope. After my daughter, who’s my pride and joy, this is the best thing that’s happened to me.”

Baltimore-based photographer Devin Allen
Baltimore-based photographer Devin Allen

On why he began to take part in the protests, Allen says he’s witnessed injustices in his hometown long before Freddie Gray died at the hands of police officers earlier this month.

“[It’s] not been a surprise,” says Allen. “I know my city. With all the frustration with the city, the mayor, the economy, the pot has been boiling.” But that has not changed Allen’s resolve to show exactly what’s been happening in his streets. “I went in thinking I would show the good, the bad and the ugly,” he says. “Of course, since I’m a black man, I understand the frustration, but at the same time, I’m a photographer. I’m not going to lie to you. I’m going to tell you exactly what happened. That was the goal.”

Many more of Allen’s images have captured national attention, including somber moments between protesters and cops, children marching, and others. You can check them out here.
article by Desire Thompson via newsone.com

Prince Records Ode to Baltimore After Freddie Gray Protests

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015

Singer-songwriter Prince records ode to Baltimore in the wake of Freddie Gray protests.

Moved by the unrest in Baltimore in the wake of Freddie Gray’s death at the hands of the police, Prince has recorded a song critical of the killing of young African-American men, a publicist for the artist said Thursday to CNN.

It is a tribute to the people of Baltimore and #BaltimoreUprising, but will also address political and social issues throughout the country.  Prince has done so before, most notably with 1987’s top-three single “Sign O’ The Times.”

Prince’s Paisley Park Studios has not yet announced a release date.

article by Lori Lakin Hutcherson (follow @lakinhutcherson)

Six Baltimore Police Officers Face Criminal Charges in Freddie Gray's Death

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015

All six Baltimore police officers involved in the arrest and transport of Freddie Gray, who was fatally injured while in police custody, will face serious criminal charges ranging from second-degree murder to assault, Baltimore State’s Atty. Marilyn J. Mosby said on Friday.
At a news conference, Mosby announced that Gray’s death had been officially ruled a homicide and that the investigation by city police and her office had found probable cause to charge all six officers.

Arrest warrants have been issued for the officers, she said.
Mosby also spoke directly to the protesters who have marched in riot-scarred Baltimore and around the nation.
“I heard your call for no justice, no peace,” Mosby said, “but your peace is sincerely needed as I work to bring justice for Freddie Gray.”
Gray died on April 19, a week after he was arrested by Baltimore police. Gray, hands cuffed behind him, was placed in a police van to be taken to the precinct where he was expected to be charged with illegally possessing a knife, according to charging papers released by police weeks ago. At the end of the ride he was hospitalized where he later died of a severed spine.
On Friday, Mosby said police lacked probable cause for the initial arrest. The knife was not a switchblade and was legal under Maryland law.  Mosby also detailed how Gray was transported in a police van that stopped four times.  Gray was not secured in a seat belt during the trip and was repeatedly refused medical care, she said.

Officials regained control by imposing a 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew and sending in thousands of National Guard troops and police officers from municipalities throughout the region.
Protesters and community leaders have demanded to know what happened to Gray during the 45 minutes from when he was taken into custody on April 12 to when he arrived at the police precinct and how his spine was severed.
“Mr. Gray’s death was a homicide,” Mosby declared Friday, a day after formally receiving a police investigation that supplemented her office’s work throughout the crisis. The final autopsy report on Gray’s death was delivered to the prosecutor Friday morning.
Gray’s arrest was illegal and the way he was treated by officers led to the charges of murder and manslaughter, Mosby said.  The most serious charge was second-degree “depraved heart” murder lodged against the driver of the van.

Three other officers face charges of involuntary manslaughter and two were charged with assault.
The top charge carries a penalty of 30 years in prison. Conviction on the manslaughter charges carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.
“No one is above the law,” Mosby said at a news conference.
article by Timothy M. Phelps and Michael Muskal via latimes.com

Eric Garner's Mother Gwen Carr Appears Before Lawmakers, Says Baltimore Riots Should Be A Wake-up Call

By goodblacknews on May 1, 2015

Gwen Carr According to Eric Garner’s mother Gwen Carr, the riots going on in Baltimore should serve as a wake-up call to lawmakers in New York that something needs to change.
Carr, along with several relatives of police victims traveled to Albany, New York Tuesday to demand that Governor Andrew Cuomo sign an executive order that would allow special prosecutors to step in to investigate police-related shootings, The New York Daily News reports.
She went on to say that many of the people who are rioting in Baltimore have reached a breaking point and in many ways, they are risking their lives to protect the lives of others who are in danger of being killed off by police in the future.
“It is very sad to see the city burning like that but sometimes people get so frustrated and they say enough is enough,” she said about Baltimore. “It just seems to me just watching it that they’re just laying their lives on the line to protect other people in the future.”
As for lawmakers, Carr had this to say:  “They need to wake up and see what’s really going on,” Carr said. “What caused this to happen? That’s the question they should ask and then correct that.”
Governor Cuomo had initially proposed criminal justice reforms that include appointing a special monitor to review cases involving deadly police encounters but has not gone as far as to allow special prosecutors to step in.
Carr and others, however, did not feel that this would be enough. Following their meeting Tuesday, Alphonso David, counsel to the governor, said that Cuomo promised to approve special prosecutors if the Legislature did not pick up his plan.
“We had a productive meeting, where both the Governor and the families of these victims had a detailed and respectful discussion on how to best reform the criminal justice system,” said David. “The Governor believes that his reform package is a balanced approach that would correct real and perceived inequities that exist within the system and he is intent on passing them in the remaining weeks of the legislative session.”
“He made it clear that if these reforms were not approved by the Legislature, he would sign an order creating a special prosecutor for police-involved fatalities,” David continued.
In a perfect world, lawmakers would have begun paying closer attention to these police-involved killings a long time ago. Hopefully, Governor Cuomo keeps his word and lawmakers across the nation will follow suit.
In other news, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced that she will be sending two government officials to Baltimore to meet with faith and community leaders, as well as city officials.
article by Jazmine Denise Rogers via madamenoire.com