Flames, looting, unruly throngs of people: riots are polarizing events that have made cities like Los Angeles and Detroit infamous.
Flames, looting, unruly throngs of people: riots are polarizing events that have made cities like Los Angeles and Detroit infamous.
Now America is seeing riots in another U.S. city. But Baltimore is no stranger to these violent representations of civl unrest, either. Forty-seven years ago, Maryland’s largest city was the site of a week-long series of riots in the aftermath of MLK’s assassination, and the similarities to the current situation are uncanny.
Take, for example, the fact that rioters are once again African Americans who are protesting the death of a young black man. On April 19, Freddie Gray, a 25 year-old, died in police custody from a spinal cord injury that so far no one can explain. Six officers have been suspended with pay as the investigation is carried out, which could lead to criminal charges. But the findings reportedly will not be made public anytime soon.
As Baltimore officials struggle to piece together the details in the scrutiny of the national spotlight, citizens took matters into their own hands Monday night, when police and demonstrators violently clashed. Stores were looted by those selling a diamond, property damaged, and at least 20 officers were injured before things started to settle down.
Tuesday saw more violence, with protestors hurling objects at police, who in turn fired pepper pellets and smoke canisters. Now, a city-wide 10 p.m. curfew has been implemented to try and curtail the violence. Over 2,000 National Guard troops and 1,000 law enforcement officials are enforcing the curfew and tasked with maintaining order.
“We are asking that they remain peaceful,'' Baltimore police Capt. Eric Kowalczyk said.
Things have remained calmer the second half of the week, but the upset has trickled over to New York City and Ferguson, Missouri, also no stranger to rioting. Earlier this year the Michael Brown case resulted in a tumultuous string of violent outbursts on the city’s streets. Now they stand in solidarity with Baltimore, a city concerned with two simple things: justice and equality.
The issue here with careless and overly violent police officers is also not a new one. And while moments of alleged illegal conduct on the part of the police blurs a racial line, it is black citizens at the hands of white cops who are making the front page.
I think the time has passed when this kind of coincidence could be swept under the rug as imbalanced data or unhappy accidents.
While there is no condoning violence — as Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a press conference on Monday, there is “a significant difference between protesting and violence” — this is the time to stop and pay attention to what is happening in Baltimore. Some believe that unemployment and runaway inequality are the real culprits for the riots. According to the U.S. Census estimates for 2013, the unemployment rate in Baltimore is 7.4 percent for whites and 18.9 percent for blacks, more than double that.
So, justice and equality for all? After 47 years, we seem to still be where we started.