Pain On Pennsylvania Avenue - Chris "Preach" Smith

Photo Credit: WFFV TV

“Black people shout because they want the answers to questions that go unasked.
Like, who knocked the nose and lips off the Sphinx?” - Ralph Wiley

It’s become a bit too commonplace to be in a mode 
where you’re sorting out what exactly to say in the
wake of protest actions that have exploded like those
in Baltimore, Maryland yesterday. A bit too commonplace
to comment on violence, on riots - but when death, 
sanctioned by elements of the police force and paid for
by tax dollars and votes that place politicians with no
interest in things outside of their position comes a calling
at your door or that of your neighbor and THAT has been
common? You’re going to rebel against that being a routine
part of your life, or should rebel against it.

The senseless death of Freddie Gray, who’s spine was
severed while in police custody and who’s arrest was
captured on video, was a spark to the protests that got
ramped up into violence that injured police officers and
reporters and other citizens into last night. But let’s sit
and consider this: this was the final spark. Grey was 
arrested on April 12th, and died on April 19th due to the
injuries he sustained. Injuries we still have no real clue
as to HOW he got them, but we can guess. We can guess
with clarity when discussing Baltimore, a city that has
dealt with the sustained assault on its citizens of color
for years by police officers. It isn’t hard to fathom when
you have some throwing rocks at cops, despite the efforts
of local clergy and the Fruit Of Islam on the streets trying
to cool people down, shouting that they’re doing so because
the cops shot their cousin. Or roughed up someone they
know for no reason. We can guess when B-More is home
to the iconic HBO drama series ‘The Wire’ and also the
birthplace of the ‘Stop Snitching’ movement. The people out
there on the streets of Baltimore were fed up. Have been
fed up. And they do not trust the police to give them answers
to Freddie’s death. Yes, the destruction of property within 
the community is distressing. Distressing because it does lend
to the derailing of the discussions that need to continue as to
WHY people are upset, which is why a Black man in police 
custody is dead days later with a broken spine a la Steve Biko.

Photo Credit: Patrick Semansky/AP/Huffington Post


The property wreckage, the looting is what many will focus
on, especially among our community. It feeds into that talk
that runs in the background like an app we forgot to close on
our smartphones that we have, that talk ingrained within us
about how ‘Black people always mess things up’ or ‘our people
don’t know how to act.’ That embedded language that is both
parts institutionalized and justified to a scant degree as a result
of the former. In this case, it will make you forget the events
of the days leading up to Gray’s funeral. Events like the 10,000
who marched in peace throughout the city. Events like the local
clergy of all faiths joining with the Nation of Islam in getting the
word out to maintain cool in the streets. Events like the Bloods
and Crips, the notorious street gangs actually meeting to declare
a public truce in solidarity with those seeking justice. Events like
mothers and fathers grabbing rock-throwing teens from the crowd
and beating them. It will even make you forget or not notice little
items that aren’t getting a lot of coverage. Items like members of  
the police force throwing rocks at students to ramp up the tension,
caught on video and in pictures. Items like public transportation being
shut down across the city, leaving many stranded out there. All of
those situations do not get obliterated because of the actions of some
who let their anger get the best of them, or those few who simply
don’t give a damn about anything but themselves. The people who 
want answers from their police department, the citizens of Baltimore
who want to believe that their police officers on the whole aren’t all
abusive and oppressive, matter. And their voices shouldn’t be neglected
at all. 

Thing is, Baltimore is a tough city. A city that breeds tough people,
people with heart. I know this thanks to a few that I have had the
chance to build with from there, most notably the talented educators
and musicians Sean Toure’-Thames and Substantial. Tough enough
to know when to speak up. If MLK is being used by those who look
to pacify and make the people of B-More docile, you’ll have to forgive
them if they are only in line with one of his lesser-known statements:
‘A riot is at best, the language of the unheard.’ And in a nation that
was born of riots dating back to the Boston Tea Party, born in violent
uprising, while the events of yesterday are shocking, they should not
take centerstage. In a nation that has seen whites riot for the most
inane events that are sports or shopping related, who still see revolt
either through the rosy view they have of the ‘60’s or in romanticized
dystopian science fiction like ‘The Hunger Games’. it shouldnt be a shock.
But they will. Because news networks need ratings, commercials need
airing, analysts with no common sense(looking at you, Don Lemon) need
to pay for their suits and all that jazz. The folks of B-More are making sure
that the mayor, the police force and others are more careful. If they have
to fully expose that pain on Pennsylvania Avenue, throwing rocks in response
to the cops throwing rocks and other things, we need to pay consistent
attention. Generations of us, need to pay attention. Even if it hurts
worse than a rubber bullet.