After Baltimore riot
After the first major day of riots it was calm in Baltimore. There was police presence all over my neighborhood.The Baltimore City Police Department is 50-50 racially, officers and command.
The Maryland National Guard has 4,000 members and there is a request for 650 police officers and we are putting other jurisdictions on notice. We are also looking for 50 prison transport vans.
Baltimore is about 80 square miles.
The morning of Tuesday 28 April 2015 Dan and I delivered eight bags of clothes to the Baltimore City Detention Center. Two detainees and an officer assisted us. One of the detainees said that the people arrested will have to be tripled up and that they deserve it. Everybody was very angry about what happened.
On Monument Street one man said “Let God do His thing and let the law do their work.” I overheard a police officer say “We don’t have time for no crime lab with all these people here.” Another officer said that this is the first time in 45 years. Baltimore is not prepared for this. This is not something that we are trained for.
Somebody commented that a helicopter is dropping white powder that blinds. This allows the police to take control of the situation. Another person said that the police night sticks have metal in them.
Dawson Batson of the Mayor’s Office has been out since 07:00 yesterday. He told us that the rioters were beating up fire fighters and paramedics. We had to let burning cars explode. All we need is for one person to run his mouth.The City has suspended the bus passes for the students. This was finally announced in an e-mail by MTA at 13:41: “On Tuesday April 28, 2015 Baltimore City Public School student tickets will not be accepted on any MTA services. We appreciate your cooperation and thank you for riding MTA.”
Somebody said that Mayor Stephanie Rawling-Blake is going down as Baltimore’s worst mayor. People are demanding her resignation. They want her to step down but she said “My pride is too big to step down.”
Dawson told us that they came together this morning for prayer. We had pastors coming together and hold their arms together. Clergy had to led the police to Mondawmin.
The City told people to put “black owned” signs up in their windows, but they did it too late.
When asked for her feelings, one woman said, “anger, disappointment, sad. It affects a lot of our customers and they don’t deserve it. We have been here since 1988-89. Some times when they come into our store for services they are short and we let it go. We need to work just like they need for us to be here. It is hurtful to the mind, to the heart, to the soul.”
I have seen people I have never seen before [coming in to express their regret]. They come out to help us and they are not being paid.
A Lutheran pastor said that we need to talk to one another. This seems to be a big problem. There are many things that a black person would say to me, but if a white person is present, he would not say it. I got in trouble with my commander in the Air Force when I made a comment. The problem was not my comment, but the fact that it was a negative statement made in front of white people.
From 10:58 until 15:27 I was out in the street. I went out for two main reasons. One was to take photographs, but that was secondary. The first reason was to show support to the police officers and to my neighbors. Many of them appreciated my words of comfort. The police officers appreciated my words of support. Thank God that I was not the only one who told the officers that we appreciate their presence.
I did not see any clergy other than the two Lutheran pastors and a Catholic priest who was visiting somebody in the hospital. Where were the black pastors in my neighborhood? Were we the only clergy in the area?
Students from Morgan State University, mainly female, came to help clean up the damage done by the rioters. At one point I was with some police officers when we saw a bunch of young men coming down the street on both sides. At first we thought that they were more protesters, but then somebody recognized them as peace makers.
One of the businesses destroyed was obviously a black owned business. It was a hair salon. I could feel the pain of the owners and all that I could do was to express to them my sorrow. Another business was a pizza store. I do not patronize them simply because I am not big on pizza. I was happy that the store where I buy my sodas was not destroyed. The owners with whom I talked appreciated my words.
A cell phone store was wiped out. What are they going to do with the phones? They are not activated. So they won't work.
I am very proud and appreciative of the woman who caught her son in the riot and knocked some sense into his head. I keep hearing "Where were the other parents?" Probably they were working. This woman stated that she had just lost her job. So she was able to be there and see her son. She is a single mother.
Earlier this month I attended the March for Marriage and the issue of single mother families were raised. What is happening to our families and our traditional values? We need to get back to the basics and back to God.
My favorite radio station, WBJC, had to go to streaming another service since they were not able to get to their studios at Reisterstown Plaza. Tuesday evening I noticed the voice of Melissa Asley instead of that of Reed Hesler and I just did not understand until the next morning when Mark Maronoski told us.
Two Lutheran pastors came out to assist in the cleaning.
