Baltimore Rising Page #6

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What better do you know

to do that than football?

- Oh, I know I should have

brought my cleats today.

- On one side, you had people

and kids from out

in the community...

you know, the "normals."

Then you have gang members

and whoever else,

and they're all

playing together

on the same team

against the police.

- You have a good game today?

- What's up, man?

Hold up, fellas!

Come here, come here, for real!

Last time, I swear.

Come here.

The gentleman standing

behind me...

- It's all good.

- Lieutenant Colonel...

They ain't all bad.

Please remember that

when we get all this

incidental contact.

- Set. Hit!

- You got Bloods and Crips,

don't f***ing like each other,

on one f***ing team.

Motherfuckers was fighting

and sh*t in the alleyways,

like, a week ago.

- Maybe about ten

of those guys,

I see on a daily basis,

and sometimes it's not

in a positive light.

So, to do something like this,

it really changes

the relationship.

- This is what the truce

looks like.

This is every set

in the city right now...

fittin' to play a game

against the last people

we want to be playing with.

- All we asking...

for 'em to be...

more considerate.

We are human beings, too,

you feel what I'm saying?

They bleed just like us.

They live just like us.

- I'm looking around,

see all these police out here.

Why they couldn't leave their

guns and handcuffs in the car?

We out here playing football.

I still feel nervous,

man, like...

- Whether the city is here

in the stands today or not,

it doesn't matter...

the city is watching us.

Yeah.

- The city is watching

the police, as they should be.

But if we can't do this,

who's gonna do it?

- Nobody.

- Nobody's gonna do it.

- One, two, three!

- Family!

- Let's play ball, guys.

Let's play ball.

- All right!

- Hey, it's flag football.

Calm down a little bit,

all right?

- Look at this.

Look at this.

That is a bad play.

Bad play.

- Let's go, let's go, 17!

- Let's go 17!

- Go, baby!

- He can throw.

He's gonna beat you if you don't

jam him at the line!

- Ah, he's going deep,

he's going deep!

- He ain't putting

no hands on him, man.

- He let him get past him.

- It's all right.

- If we lose, everybody

on foot for a week.

I'm serious.

Straight up.

- All right, where's the ball?

- I'm serious.

We got females on the field.

I'm gonna say it out loud...

let the flag be

be the only thing you grab.

That's right.

- First of all,

we wouldn't have even won

if it wasn't for y'all,

so round of applause

for my youngsters.

All right?

- Whoo!

- Come on,

let's get group pictures!

Okay, my front row right here,

take a knee like you...

you know, football pose.

When I say "one city,"

you say "one purpose"!

- One city!

- One purpose!

I love that.

- Deuces!

- I don't understand

why you just won't...

Can you take a plea deal?

- Do you think

I did something wrong?

- Yes.

You had a blow horn

at the courthouse.

- You know, I think

that I was targeted.

- You were.

- With the megaphone

out front of the courthouse...

- When did that become

against the law?

- It's a nuisance... they're

conducting business inside.

- I had the bullhorn out there

for three days.

- Okay, and after a while,

they got tired of it.

- Y'all haven't accepted me

for being me.

- We want you to look

at the long term.

What happens when...

- I don't think

about long term.

You know, I don't really,

like...

have a longing

for, like, material possessions.

- Okay.

- I'm content.

- You're homeless.

- What?

- You're homeless.

- I am not.

- You are.

- I'm not looking for a home.

- You're broke.

- Yes, you have no money.

You're broke.

- Give me a loan.

- No, the goal is

to make the bird fly.

- I'm looking

for somebody to love me.

- We love you, but you can't

stay in my basement.

- No, love me the way

I'm looking for.

These are my parents.

Who try to teach you

responsibility.

- It's reality, baby.

- I don't want responsibility.

- Exactly.

- In Baltimore,

residents and officials

are anxiously awaiting

a verdict

in the first trial

in the death of Freddie Gray.

And the head of the city's

public schools

has issued a letter

to the community

warning students that walkouts

and any form of violence

are not acceptable.

- So today we received

a letter from Dr. Thornton,

the CEO of the Baltimore City

Public School system,

regarding the upcoming verdict.

"While we appreciate

the school board's effort

to keep..."

- "Students safe."

- Students safe.

- You should say,

"The school board's

newfound effort."

That's shady, that's shady.

- Oh!

- So what action

are you all planning?

- We're planning

an emergency student walkout.

If the verdict comes

during the school day.

- So you all are planning

a walkout...

with the letter in mind...

that said that consequences

will occur

as a result of a walkout?

- Yep.

- We can't afford

another arrest.

- They can't make arrests

until they give three warnings.

- They can shoot you

and kill you

without giving you a warning,

so why do you trust

that they are going

to give you three warnings?

And once again,

here we are, not doing

what you're supposed

to be doing

because everything

is so much more important

than Makayla.

- Do you want me to ask them

to leave now?

- I'm talking about you.

At what point

are we going to start

what we planned to do today?

- When we finish this.

- When is that?

- I don't... Mom, I don't...

I just said I don't know.

- And when is the deadline?

- I sent you all the deadlines.

They're not until January.

- Everybody in there

have applied for college.

- Okay.

- Right?

- Yep.

- Okay.

"Yep."

"Yep, yep."

Okay.

- So the idea is this...

when the riots happened,

it turned into a free-for-all.

And... every

major media outlet possible

had a field day with it.

Of course, they're doing

their job, but...

now that they've gotten

to tell their story,

now we get to let the bastard

stepchild of America...

which is Baltimore City...

tell its story.

We do not want to be known

as savages.

We do not want to be known

as animals.

We want to be known

as a community

in which we just live

in the community.

My proposal is

a nondenominational thing,

and excuse my hands

being held behind my back,

but I am extremely nervous,

'cause I've never

actually done this.

So...

- You're doing a good job.

You can step forward

if you like, brother.

- He needs a hug.

- Yeah.

- All right.

What I have planned

is to have the various

elements of society...

police, gang members, clergy,

Muslims, whoever...

pray for our city...

Together,

regardless of the verdict.

- I'll disclose this...

we'll probably have,

like, an hour notice.

- Mm-hmm.

- Advanced.

- Advanced notice.

That's a real small window.

As soon as I get notice...

I'm hitting my man.

- So you're saying

we would be on the ground...

- Yes.

- As the verdict is being

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