Stephanie Ingram
Research Paper 2
Dr. Martin
December 4, 2015
Baltimore Protests: Power in the City
Baltimore Maryland has a history of being a place with thick racial tensions, segregation, and police discrimination in dealing with people of non white races. It was documented in 1910 when an African American individual who graduated from Yale tried to buy a house in a neighborhood deemed white (Rothstein, 2015). Throughout the years there were more sanctions to further remove the African American population from the area. The white population did not want black members in their community. Up until 1994, laws had been past to keep black citizens in communities that were deemed to be lower quality and segregated from white population in the same city. This helped white community members keep their neighborhoods within certain parameters.The white population did not want their neighborhoods to house any black members, or they feared their property values would go down. The black population also had different regulations on property ownership and fees they paid per month. For instance, if a member of the black population was late with just one payment, they may be forced out of their home. This type of forcing black community members into segrated housing combined with the police oppression of the group can be a terrible recipe. The media also has ways of casting the situation in very unfavorable light.
Fox news, a news station known for being very politically conservative, had a lot to say about riots in Baltimore. First, they mentioned that violent crime had gone up since the murder of Freddie Gray. They indicated that law enforcement were not making as many arrests in a community where heavy policing was probably needed due to the fact that there were issues with really violent crime (they indicated murders had signfifcantly gone up) (Chiaramonte, 2015). Their reasoning for this was the fact that there were riots and people in that community or “those people”. The issues in the Baltimore community with police force as well as generally is the citizens of specific communities attacking police, according to the article. IT also indicated in order to stop what is going on in communities like Baltimore (impoverished and minority based) there would need to be actions taken to ensure that police were respected sincethe war was not said to be on the people of the community (like other sources I will discuss later) but on the grievances listed it was defiance on the members of community. The acknowledgement of the community members’ side of the story was not taken into account. From a sociological perspective, this analysis takes the power away fromthe community members and puts it in the hands of the police by making them seem powerless against the community’s backlash. There are different news outlets who have different approaches.
The Huffington post had a different take on the situation involving the riots and police treatment of residents after the killing of Fredidie Gray. The article mentioned the history of the city and racial relationships and tensions like the Rothstein article, and indicated that Baltimore had racial tensions like almost everywhere in the united states. The lack of acknowledgement about racism was not doing anything to help oppressed groups and the violence was not helping either (Okafor, 2015). The author of the article indicated while he did not condone the violence, he understood why it was happening and encouraged people to be more understanding. It also mentioned how historical figures like Malcom X condoned violence to get things done and people may feel trapped. They may feel like there is no one to care bout their side. The police and how they manage people of minority groups also contributes to the issue, according to the article. It listed statistics on arrests made in the America indicating that about 88 percent of people in jails in the united states were minorities This article looked at both sides of the story. It focused in on how the community was oppressed and systematically let down by the local, state, and federal levels. The violence was a way to have their voices heard and to exert power…something the oppressed community did not get to do. The police treatment of these groups was such that they did not feel like thye could rise up and speak out. Violence was not a good answer, but it was one they found they caught the attention of the nation. The mayor has different feelings on the insident.
Stephanie Ralings-Blake, mayor of Baltimore has released her thoughts and opinions on the riots and behaviors of those in the community to the Baltimore sun. she indicated that she had been aware of the riots for hours before releasing any statements because she was unsure of how to respond. She claimed that the city had not seen such actions in many years, and she was unsure of what to do (Broadwater, 2015). She said residents (she did not specify where from i.e. affluent or poor area) asked her to call in the National guard due to the violence in the streets. After many hours of deliberation, Blake called them in to handle the crowds and their aggression. She indicated the city would prepare for future uprisings like this In the future. Given that the city has a history of having protests due to discrimination on the basis of race, one was surprised that the mayor was taken aback by the communities response. It has also surprising as a reader that instead of thinking of solutions to the problems, she just proposed being prepared in the future. The article did not really indicate that change would come about from the mayer. Her position in power was that of an authority figure. She had most certainly seen her share of oppression as an African American female one is sure, and as a woman in politics. She had not however lived in or been apart of the community to which she was speaking and making decisions for. She did not know them as a whole. Her plan was not one of action but one of defeat. She wanted to plan for future uprisings instead of trying to deal with the root cause of the issue. There was also a large impact on local places of business.
Baltimore did not just experience a mental burden on leaders and residents; they also experienced a fiscal burden. It was estimated that nine million dollars worth of damgages were sustained to businesses, vehicles, and home property (Toppa, 2015). Many small business owners struggled to pay bills and get back ontheir feet after the riots due to the physical devastation in the area, as well as mental attitudes about what had been going on (Basara, 2015). People did not feel encouraged to go to the area because they viewed it as an unsafe place to be. The restaurant owner in the article mentioned how he had struggled for business due to the factors at play for about a year before his business picked back up (Basara, 2015). In addition to the destruction, the citizens did to their own area to try to get the attention of leaders and rebel against how the police treat the community members of the impoverished minority neighborhoods. By destroying their own property, they got to take ownership of the events and make them feel more like doing something for the cause …which was the case against racism and police brutality in the community in Baltimore. When business started to pick back up it enabled business leaders to begin to turn profit which also benefitedthe community at large, which was in a huge fiscal debt for not having tourism for awhile and doing business to the regular customers.
The riots in Baltimore and the aftermath demonstrate several types of power. First of all the Mayor had power at the state level to make the decision whether or not to call in the National guard and what to do about the city offices, schools ,and local areas…to lock down or not? With that amount of power also came a lot of pressure. However in the numerous hours it took her to reach a decision she probably could have prevented destruction. The police force has the power to enforce the law. They also had a certain type of control and responses to that control over the lower income neighborhood where Freddie Gray was from. The police had the power to change their behavior in dealing with the public. They demonstrated their power by using a tight rein and brutal tactics to engage the citizens with their point. They also had the ability to communicate with the Mayor and vice versa and there seemed to be a breakdown in that communication. The media outlets involved had and did make choices that would have lasting impacts on the people of Baltimore about they were portrayed. The citizens had very little power in the dynamic. They were forced to live in neighborhoods with little opportunity stuck in the cycle of poverty. Their way of rising up against this was to revolt with violence. While this is not a supported tactic by scholars and the public at large it is one that should be recognized as a way to get attention and not to be ignored; power should be a balance not a one rules all.
References
Basara, M. (2015, December 2). Baltimore business still recovering from april riots.WBALTV11. Retrieved from: recovering-from-april-riots/36760310
Broadwater, L. (2015, July 28). Mayor: Baltimore wasn’t fully prepared for riot. The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved from: response-20150728-story.html
Chiaramonte, P. (2015, May 23). Violence crime surges as arrests drop in baltimore post riots. FoxNews. Retrieved from :
Okafor, U. (2015, May 1). Understanding the Baltimore protets over the death of freddie gray. HuffingtonPost. Retrieved from: okafor/understanding-the-baltimo_b_7157584.html
Rothstein, R. (2015, April 30). From ferguson to Baltimore: the fruits of government sponsored segregation. Economic Policy Institute. Retrieved from: government-sponsored-segregation/
Toppa, S. (2015, May 14). The Baltimore riots cost an estimated $9 million in damages. Time. Retreived from: freddie-gray/