US Opinion and Commentary

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Why Freddie Gray Is Still a Thing One Year On

Posted April 22nd, 2016 at 1:16 pm (UTC-4)
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The outrage that erupted and spilled into the streets of Baltimore in the days after 25-year-old African-American Freddie Gray died in police custody harkened back to another painful and ugly moment in American history. Heavily armed police on the streets, clouds of tea gas, protesters being dragged away against their will: it could have been Baltimore 48 years ago—1968—after the assassination of civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

But it was April 2015. The city burned with anger, outrage and grief for days. Several months later, six Maryland police officers—not all were white—were charged in connection with Gray’s death. The state prosecutor cited the cops for improperly arresting and shackling Freddie Gray in violation of police rules by loading him into a van without the required safety restraints, and also ignoring his pleas for help.

Freddie Gray, the riots and the sudden shattering of business as usual in Baltimore morphed into a symbol of all the other recent violence between police and the black community, some recorded on smart phones and uploaded to social media websites. A year later, things are quiet, at least on the surface. But much remains unresolved, prime to erupt again as law enforcement grapples with a crisis that until recently had been swept under the carpet.

A Year After Freddie Gray’s Death, Two Baltimores

Posted April 20th, 2016 at 4:15 pm (UTC-4)
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Have massive protests and an ongoing trial caused police in Baltimore to change? It depends on who you ask.

2015 in Review

Posted December 30th, 2015 at 2:12 pm (UTC-4)
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As 2015’s final minutes tick away, it’s gives us a chance to look into the mirror to see what we are leaving behind. Many philosophers have noted that history tends to repeat itself. Terrorism. Gun violence. Racial tensions. Religious differences. Politics. The environment. So we reflect on the events and trends of 2015 in hopes of identifying patterns, learning from the mistakes of the past and building on its successes to take on many of the same challenges in 2016.

In Iraq, I Raided Insurgents. In Virginia, Police Raided Me.

Posted July 27th, 2015 at 9:17 am (UTC-4)
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The culture that encourages police officers to engage their weapons before gathering information promotes the mind-set that nothing, including citizen safety, is more important than officers’ personal security. That approach has caused public trust in law enforcement to deteriorate.

Listening to Ta-Nehisi Coates While White

Posted July 17th, 2015 at 8:46 am (UTC-4)
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Your new book, “Between the World and Me,” is a great and searing contribution to this public education … You write to your son, “Here is what I would like for you to know: In America, it is traditional to destroy the black body — it is heritage.”

Most Americans Expect a Long, Hot Summer of Racial Unrest. Moynihan Would Not Be Surprised

Posted June 15th, 2015 at 12:07 pm (UTC-4)
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It’s hard to get 96% of people to agree on anything, but last month’s Wall Street Journal/NBC poll found that 96% of those surveyed believe we are in for a summer of racial unrest. In the wake of Ferguson and Baltimore, it’s time for some reflection on how we got here.