Baltimore Protesters Call “Amnesty for All” by Lamont Lilly

Baltimore Protesters Call “Amnesty for All” by Lamont Lilly | @LamontLilly | special to NewBlackMan (in Exile)
On Saturday May 16th, hundreds of protesters gathered at downtown Baltimore’s McKeldin Square in a show of solidarity with the more than 500 (mostlyly Black youth) protesters who were arrested and jailed here over the last three weeks. While some arrestees have posted bail, many are still catching hell behind the walls of the Baltimore City Detention Center .
Organized by the Baltimore People’s Power Assembly (PPA), concerned community members spoke out and marched for three miles through Baltimore’s downtown and oppressed community, including Latrobe Homes. Community members of all nationalities were there to call for justice in the torture death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray by six Baltimore Police Department officers last month. It took more than a week — which included the rebellion and a five-day curfew — for these officers to be charged with Gray’s death.
In addition to honoring Brother Gray, others shared personal stories involving friends and loved ones who have also experienced negative encounters with Baltimore police – from racial profiling to beatings, to outright murder. It was obvious through public testimonies that the city of Baltimore does indeed have a very serious problem with police terror.
A rally led by Sharon Black and Rev. C.D. Witherspoon of the Baltimore People’s Power Assembly had protesters continuously chanting: “What do we want? AMNESTY! When do we want it? NOW!” Rev. Witherspoon reminded the local media and attendees, “This is an uprising, not a riot. Our resistance is justified.” His inspiring comments were right on time as the local police attempted to derail the route by way of an armed barricade.
Their intention was to cut off the route from entering the Black community in order to disconnect the oppressed from their supporters and allies. In a spontaneous show of sheer bravery, marchers refused to be moved and simply went around the police (despite their guns, tasers and mace close at waist-side). This small but heroic stand was important because the route was specifically mapped to cover the Black community, as well as stops at the Baltimore Juvenile Justice Center and the city’s Central Booking and Intake Center.
At both facilities community members spoke out against the state of Maryland’s recent approval to construct a new $30 million youth jail, which is only an insult to the recent rebellion. Speakers and protesters were careful to highlight the connections among police terror, militarization, the perpetuation of the prison-industrial complex through private prisons and the school-to-prison pipeline. It’s unfortunate how the city of Baltimore can find money for more jails and prisons, but not money for better schools and recreation centers.
Protest attendees were very conscious of the fact that most of the inmates incarcerated in Baltimore (Black youth from 18-30) are in actuality victims of racist systematic disenfranchisement, poverty and police terror — all ills of the capitalist crisis. Protesters were very aware that prisons and jails are merely tools that aid continued oppression and state-sponsored violence; which is exactly why local protesters are calling for full amnesty of all uprising-related arrestees. 
Capitalism has run its course and the system has now failed, both workers and youth alike. Those incarcerated for speaking truth to power must be defended. Those detained for standing up for justice must be released. You don’t punish oppressed youth for seeking justice. You punish the oppressors who deny them justice. We say jail the “real thugs” — the judges and corrupt politicians. Free the people and jail the pigs! More schools, fewer prisons! 
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COME STAND IN SOLIDARITY: First Session of the Baltimore Tribunal & People’s Assembly on “Police Terror and Structural Racism,” Saturday, June 6th, 2-7 p.m. at New Unity Church (100 W. Franklin St. Baltimore, Maryland 21201). Come build community power. Join the Know Your Rights/Cop Watch Teams. For details and additional information, contact the PPA at 443-221-3775.
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Lamont Lilly is a contributing editor with the Triangle Free Press and frequent contributor to Truthout, Dissident Voice and The Durham News. Though based in Durham (NC), he is currently serving as a community organizer with the Baltimore People’s Power Assembly. Follow him on Twitter @LamontLilly.