Betting on Hope: Black Baltimore and the Work of 2020
Dismantle by Junious Woodrick
To date, the coronavirus has stolen over 700,000 American lives. In cities like Baltimore the pandemic’s violence is magnified by palpable health inequities in low-income neighborhoods, where communities of color suffer from social and economic disparities created by systemic racism– a “disease” that has long infected the United States of America.
On June 6, 2020 Morgan students led a protest against the unjust and shameful police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and far too many other Black individuals. Despite the dangers of mass gatherings during the pandemic, the World Health Organization maintained that protests are important for addressing the structural inequalities that have led to public health disparities along racial lines.
For many Baltimoreans, images of a white police officer mercilessly kneeling on the neck of George Floyd, and ensuing protests, brought to the fore painful memories of the brutal murder of Freddie Gray while in police custody in 2015. As well as sharp realities of the report issued by the US Department of Justice in the summer of 2016 stating that the “Justice Department finds a pattern of Civil Rights Violations by the Baltimore Police Department.”
June 6, 2020 - Morgan Students march to protest the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and too many others
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted all sectors of societies across the globe and disproportionately impacted communities of color. On June 6, 2020 - Morgan Students lead protest against police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and too many others. Despite the dangers of mass gatherings during the pandemic, the World Health Organization maintained that “Public Protests Are Important” for addressing the structural inequities that have led to public health disparities along racial lines. In the wake of these protests, cities gained momentum for more equitable distribution of their budgets.
After the cancellation of our “5 Years After the Baltimore Uprising” Religion|City and Philosophy and HBCUs April 2020 conference, the CSRC shifted funds to help support relief and restoration work by our community partners. In June of 2020, we were awarded an additional $150,000 by the Henry Luce Foundation to further support these efforts by our community partners. We acknowledge that so much more work and support is needed and we are also inspired by those in our communities who are now working to bring about racial equity during the pandemic. We thus also organized over 30 researchers to help document and reflect on the work, including oral history interview recordings conducted over Zoom with community partners engaging in relief and restoration efforts.