The Baltimore Brew in an online publication that has covered many corruption stories that implicate a variety of people and institutions. While there is corruption in politics that is carried out by Black elected officials, this is often overstated by many of its readers as the reason Baltimore continues to struggle.
Defunding police and reimagining public safety cannot simply be about transferring money from police to traditional human and social services.
Legislative bodies are no different. The Maryland Legislative Black Caucus was founded in 1970 as a way to establish a power base to represent the interests of Black people in MD.
It is beyond time for Maryland lawmakers to repeal the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights. Director of Public Policy for Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle explains why.
Imagine being stuck in jail in the middle of a global pandemic for selling something now considered an “essential product.”
The true test of white people’s actual commitment to Black Liberation is the extent to which they will organize on a consistent basis with other white people against the racism of their own people. Showing up where Black people are is easy.
Any funding that is taken from the police department should be reinvested in an alternative community safety infrastructure. While this is happening, we need to be able to demonstrate to our community that this alternative infrastructure will meet the needs of the elements of our community that struggle most with being safe in their neighborhoods.
Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle joined with the ACLU of Maryland and other community based organizations to file a lawsuit against the Baltimore City Police Department, claiming their use of a spy plane for surveillance as an unconstitutional violation of civil liberties.
On May 7th, 2020 Governor Hogan announced that he was going to veto numerous criminal justice reform and progressive public safety legislation. This includes legislation to expunge criminal records from a unit of charges, removing possession of marijuana from case search, and funding for community based anti-violence programs.
Five years after the Baltimore Uprising there will be a lot of reflections on the progress that has been made in Baltimore is since the events of 2015. A recent article written by Jean Marbella in the Baltimore Sun is an example of the way that insidious notions of Black inferiority and white supremacy are reproduced in the way Baltimore is represented in mainstream media.
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