Baltimore Rising Page #8

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- I generally get frustrated

with the way that people get

sucked into the theater

of the actual trial.

The trial kind of represents

the little bit of justice

that people want.

It's really the least amount

of justice

that one could ask for.

But the biggest deterrent

to abuse is power, you know?

If an officer knows that

they will get sent to jail

or have some severe

consequences,

or if the department

knows that,

they're gonna behave

differently.

Unfortunately,

people miss the point

of the importance of studying

our condition, our people...

that the purpose is to take

what our folks have discovered

and learned about ourselves

and our condition

and take it a step further.

Leaders

of a Beautiful Struggle...

we call it LBS for short...

was founded in 2010.

Many of us are former

high-school

and college policy debaters.

So we wanted

to form an organization

that was the public policy

arm of the community.

- The strength and power

of the organizing work

that we do is that we're always

thinking about the future

and passing it on

to young folks.

So people like Kwame

and Makayla are emboldened

to achieve what

they can achieve

and to do what they do

because we decided

to pass that kind of knowledge

and passion on to them.

And so it's our view that

that's what we need to do

to empower black people

in this city...

to pass on knowledge,

wisdom, and skills

that can take them

into the future.

- So what we're trying to do

is reform what's called

the "Law Enforcement Officer

Bill of Rights,"

and that was codified

back in 1974.

Basically, what it does is that

it gives police officers

in Maryland protections

above and beyond

their constitutional rights.

Give you a couple of examples.

So let's say a police officer

has been alleged

to have engaged

in excessive force...

so they fatally

beat somebody up.

There's a trial board

that determines

whether they get fired or not,

whether they get suspended.

That trial board is made up

of other police officers.

Right?

So one of the elements

we would try to change is to

make it so that

a non-police officer

is on that trial board.

If someone's investigating

that incident,

only sworn law enforcement

can interrogate

that police officer.

Our opposition is the FOP...

the Fraternal Order of Police...

the union that represents

and supports the police.

And to the FOP,

all these amendments

are nonstarters.

- How do you feel

about the climate

of Baltimore right now?

- I feel like everybody's

holding their breath

and has been

since the trial started.

It didn't end in a cathartic

moment that we needed.

A mistrial... we don't know

what to do

with that, emotionally.

Can I read you my essay now?

Does that work?

- Yeah, you can read

while I'm decorating.

So the question is,

"Discuss an accomplishment

"or event, formal or informal,

that marked your transition

"from childhood to adulthood

within your culture,

community, or family."

"With each of my first breaths

on this Earth,

"I was deluded of my innocence

"and the purity

of my childhood.

"Even despite my mother's

strenuous effort

"to protect my sisters and me

"from the cruelty around us...

"despite the strength

and resilience

"that we inherited from her,

despite the beautiful

memories"...

- Okay, wait, wait, wait.

This essay sounds like

you were...

- Can I just get through the...

You didn't even listen

to the rest of the essay.

- Can I finish speaking?

- Oh, my God.

- It sounds like you were...

you have been fighting

all your life...

- Mom.

- Makayla, it sounds like

you have been fighting

all your life,

like you were born

into this struggle,

and you didn't have

a childhood...

- Can you listen

to the sentence?

- No, you had... you had

a very, very good childhood.

- Mom, you didn't listen

to the rest of the sentence.

- You were sheltered... okay.

- "Despite her success

in creating a facade of safety

for us"...

- "Facade of safety"?

Really? "Facade of safety"?

- Yes, Mom...

- Well, okay,

you're talking... okay.

- Can you let me finish

the sentence?

- Go ahead.

- Oh, my God.

"Despite the strength

and resilience

"that we inherited from her,

despite the beautiful

"memories she crafted for us,

"there remain

the unflinching reminders

of our bodies' fungibility."

- It's a very well written

essay.

- But...

- It sounds like you were born

into this struggle,

you didn't have

a good childhood,

you didn't live.

I don't like the tone of it,

because it just doesn't...

it's not... it's not

your reality.

And I think...

I mean, you and I...

this has not been

a good year for us at all.

You can roll your eyes

all you want.

- I didn't roll my eyes.

- It has not been

a good year for us at all,

'cause I grow increasingly

more frustrated

with you, and you grow

just as frustrated with me.

- I think there are ways

that protest can become

counterproductive

when there are not

specific policy items

that are at play.

And it's really important that,

if that's the case,

that people are being conscious

about the time and energy

and cost.

- So we're gonna take...

I think it's about

15 neighborhoods.

- In my opinion,

it would be smarter

just to have everybody down

in, like, the Inner Harbor.

- They will lock up people

who are disrupting

white folks'

commercial activity...

especially on New Year's Eve.

- The police ain't gonna...

the police ain't

just gonna attack people

on New Year's Eve.

- You don't think the police

are going to attack people.

Stop there.

- That's not what I meant.

So if they see positive...

- And you're giving

them more reason...

- No, but if they see

positive people,

then they're gonna stand up.

- "Positive"?

- What's positive?

Black Lives Matter

isn't positive.

Marching with your fist

isn't positive to them.

- It is positive to me.

- To them, it's not positive.

- But the young people...

- So Kwame is on his

Part II'"...

- No, no, I don't want...

I'm talking about

going in more like,

"Yo, like, come, like,

do this with us."

- My thing is the police

are already tripping,

so if you go down there

on some Black Lives Matter...

you know, whatever, whatever,

you're marching

in the streets... they're gonna

be doubly tripping,

and whoever else is caught

in the crossfire, if they...

if they, like, halfway...

"Hell, yeah,

Black Lives Matter,"

and, like, throw some sh*t

at the police,

then you're

responsible for them.

And then you got to worry

about their safety...

- And then they say

it incited a riot.

- I ain't getting arrested.

- If you're marching,

you're getting arrested.

- I don't think you realize

that you got arrested

for telling people

to stay on the sidewalk.

I'm just saying...

you're gonna be responsible

for that whole thing.

- Next.

- Look it... God, okay.

- Next.

- Next!

- So back to what

we were doing previously.

- So also, like, I'm saying

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