The Baltimore Riots

Urban Blacks were also encounter with extreme racial violence in neighborhoods and at work. Different ethnic groups of new immigrants obtained power and used conflict as a strategy of diminishing urban Blacks power level. They began blocking Urban Black workers going to work throughout new immigrant’s neighborhoods. Race riots have played a crucial role in the social establishment of race, prejudice, and discrimination across the United States. Race riots uncovered fundamental tensions in societies experiencing swift technological and economic changes. In 1920, there were many race riots and other violence in many places, such as Red Summer Race Riots of 1919 and the St. Louis Riot of 1917 that took place during the segregation in the South and the Black urban migration to the North. These race riots were response to the reality that Urban Blacks were carrying on a powerful struggle against White supremacy. During race riots, Urban Blacks lived through a renewed flow of riots, massacres, and racial terrorism.

The 1960s was a time for change. It promoted on going expectations of equality for all races. This proved to be difficult for minorities. In August of 1965, civil unrest broke out, which lead to six-day revolt called the Watts Riot. Nearly thirty years later another riot broke out which caused even greater damage and left an even greater impact in our history, the Rodney King Riots. Both of these events share similar qualities and devastating damages, however, their meanings are much harder to decipher from one another. These impactful events in our society demonstrate how much there needs to change in our society, especially when dealing with minorities.

Social and economic disparities are plaguing the city of Baltimore. There are numerous issues that the city of Baltimore is facing, many of which did not come to light until the case of Freddie Gray. On April 2015, a 25-year-old black man by the name of Freddie Gray fell victim to police brutality. After the discovery of his death and the unreasonable way he was treated, Baltimoreans began to protest. The anger and frustration began to escalate due to other social and economic problems the city faces regularly.

The day prior to Gray’s death, April 18th, is when the true protests began outside the Western District Police Department. Department of Justice’s were asked by congressional delegates to open a criminal and civil rights investigation on April 20th. Gene Ryan, the president of the Baltimore police union compared the protests of Gray’s death to “lynch mobs” and in doing so enraged the protesters and the citizens (Timeline: Freddie Gray’s…). After five straight days of protesting, the governor of Maryland made the decision to send state troopers to Baltimore as the protests elevated. Police city leaders on April 23rd made the executive decision to cancel leave for all officers to increase coverage of the city. A pivotal day in the protests was April 25th, the day protests turned into riots as police vehicles became targets of rage. April 27th was the day that Gray was laid to rest and the day following his funeral proved to be the most dangerous for officers. Several officers were sent for medical treatment as they clashed with rioters who plundered and tore open businesses. The National Guard was called in for reinforcement and as many as 5,000 reinforcement officers were called upon. Baltimore mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, placed a curfew on the city the night of April 27th to hopefully null remaining riots and violence. President Obama was quoted as saying,”the rioters throwing rocks at police and setting cars on fire as "criminals" and "thugs" (Timeline: Freddie Gray’s…). These rioters were detracting from legitimate concerns in the community. The curfew in place met resistance during the night of April 28th as a defiant group of rioters faced off with helmeted police officers. Baltimore Orioles changed their schedule on April 28th as they had to relocate to Florida for their upcoming games. After 200 people were arrested during the riots, over

The shooting left the Blacks in the city of Ferguson in a state of outrage. Anger raced through the veins of the citizens which prompted a series of demonstrations, which spread rapidly across the country. Brown’s death sparked protests and discussions about race and the abuse of police power in society. Protests began to flare after the Ferguson police officer was not indicted. St. Louis grand jury brought no criminal charges against Darren Wilson, who shot Michael Brown fatally in nearby Ferguson. The decision of

Sometimes people fail to realize we need law and order in our communities. Again, those in the law enforcement are not above the law. We all need each other’s support in a community and riots is not the answer. The police are there to protect, keep citizens safe and show the society the importance of law. Despite that some police officers brutally took certain people’s lives, today it creates a lack of trust for them. People no longer respect or cherish police presence. The Louisiana flood is a proof that communities need the presence of law enforcement officers. The police showed their commitment by extending their hands to rescue even those could have challenged them during recent the Louisiana riot.

On April 12, 2015, Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old man, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department for having an illegal  knife. While being transported in a police van, Gray went in a coma and was taken to a trauma center. Freddie died on April 19, 2015. His death was because of injuries to his spinal cord. On April 21, 2015, an investigation was started to investigate his death. Six Baltimore police officers were suspended with pay.

CNN’s article “Baltimore riots: Looting, fires engulf city after Freddie Gray 's funeral” by Holly Yan and Dana Ford gives a great overview of the all the damage done and chaos in the city, but does not cover the full story. There is more to this situation than just the riots. Yes, it is important for the public to hear about the National Guard being called in, or “at least 15 officers” being injured, but there are other important factors to these riots (Yan and Ford para 4). Fox New’s article by Judge Napolitano states that because of the lack of answers in the Freddie Gray murder the city is reacting poorly. “That lamentable state of affairs has been looking for a tipping point; and in the unexplained death of Freddie Gray

The nightly protests in Ferguson, Missouri are receding. Sparked by the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown by white police officer Darren Wilson, the scenes of protest, rioting, and an iron-fisted police crackdown emerging from the St. Louis suburb shocked the world. But they shouldn't.

The streets in Baltimore looked like a warzone after a night of riots and fire. The security was increased after looting and fires engulfed the city. Many buildings and cars across the city were engulfed in flames. Around a dozen businesses were looted or damaged. There was a minimum of 15 officers wounded, and six of them were seriously injured.

The police shootings over the years have raised troubling questions about when, if ever, police are justified in using deadly force against a suspect. Many of police shootings may just represent a difference form of violence. Others law-enforcement officers may be physically incapable of taking a suspect into custody. For example, Peck (2016) writes about a $500.000 judgment against the District of Columbia when a police officer who was not in suitable physical shape used his weapon in the course of the arrest. How do we decide when a police officer can not only use force but shoot at a suspect even shoot to kill? The protection of life should be the primary value and guiding principle of the Police Department. As such, all levels of staffs

The Los Angeles riots of 1992, the worst civil disturbance in America, brought to light the deepening racial and class divisions that were growing in the U.S. The division of between the rich and the poor, the immigrants and natives, and majority and minority produced an atmosphere of fear, distrust, and hopelessness. Due to the struggle to gain power by racial and ethnic groups, the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots was clouded with racial and ethnical conflicts. However, the riots did increase racial awareness for Korean Americans between the different ethnicities. Dialogue was opened between people, whom prior to the riot, did not interact with each other. Even so, African American, Latino, White, and Asian American victims shared their anger and resentment towards the government for not providing adequate compensation and aid for their losses.

Raymond Chandler said, “Police business is a hell of a problem. It’s a good deal like politics. It asks for the highest caliber of man, and there nothing in it to attract the highest caliber of man, so we have to work with what we get.” This quote speaks monuments to the problem we are faced with to ay in American society. Although the caliber of people hired to do this job is not the only problem when I comes to excessive force and police brutality, it is one of the factors. Police brutality and the excessive use of force, to include deadly force is something you cannot avoid in today’s culture when watching the news or scrolling through Facebook. Just like with anything else the media puts their own spin on these situations and although

The story of Freddie Gray’s death and the subsequent trial against the six police officers being held responsible calls into question how the relationship between the American police force and the American citizenry is evolving. Gray died on April 19th, a week after he was arrested and sustained severe injuries while in the back of a police van. The difficulty of obtaining objectivity in journalism shines through in the barrage of coverage of his death and its aftermath across different news platforms. The way that a story is portrayed is of critical importance — it influences readers to make decisions that affect the world around them, and with an upcoming trial, it is crucial to ensure citizens have access to the truth of a situation as the press can best uncover it.

About forty miles from our nations capital is a city known for the recent corruption in the police force. According to The Atlantic, they call it “The Mysterious Death of Freddie Gray”. It makes sense why The Atlantic would call it that because what happened to