23 Powerful Quotes From Baltimore Rising
Baltimore Rising is a new and powerful documentary featured on HBO and Netflix, capturing the prominent voices woven together in the wake of the death of Freddie Gray.
In April of 2015, Baltimore City erupted after the untimely death of Freddie Gray in police custody. Since then Baltimore City has made significant steps to avoid another uprising and subvert the immediate spike in violence following the unrest.
There have been indelible marks left by the riots in Baltimore City. It still comes up in conversations from week to week with people that I meet. The consistent theme about the riot is that there is no constant theme or view on what took place in April of 2015.
That’s why I’m grateful for the directorial work of Sonja Sohn, the famed actress of The Wire. Baltimore Rising is an invitation to connect with the stories of activists and police, gang members and concerned citizens to learn what is going on in Baltimore City.
The riot didn’t tear up the community, the condition of the community caused the uprising that we had. — Councilman Carl Stokes
We’re not ignorant we just want peace — protester
The real story is, Freddie Gray was killed by police, and my city took to the streets and took the city back. — Devin Allen
Cop cars were being destroyed; businesses were being destroyed. It’s like a demon took over the city. — unknown
I can’t just sit on the sidelines. This is a part of me. From that Saturday on, I would leave work and protest with my cousin. — Kwame Rose
Protest truly is the voice of people that are unheard. — Makayla Gilliam-Price
We’re in a community where it’s underserved and over-policed. — Chief Melvin Russell
The Freddie Gray incident wasn’t the cause of the uprising. It was just probably the last straw that broke the camels back after decades of crying out. — Chief Melvin Russell
We all love our city. And we loved it before it was popular to say you loved it. — Community Advocate
7 or 8 generations of fatherless boys. And the only time we see [police] is when you’re taking our fathers from us. — Genard ‘Shadow’ Barr
Black males: When you have young black men like this, walking around the streets, aimlessly, they’re doing one of two things, they’re up to no good, or they’re selling drugs. — Det. Dawnyell Taylor
Life in Baltimore City: We are so angry. We are so upset, and we don’t have nothing to do so we agitate each other. — Community Advocate
We stopped policing — Chief Melvin Russell
We’ve got people dying in neighborhoods where they grew up, and you’ve got people that say absolutely nothing. — Det. Dawnyell Taylor
All we’re asking is for [police] be more considerate. They bleed just like us. They live just like us. — Gang member
Post-verdict: We do not want to be known as savages. We do not want to be known as animals. We wanna be known as a community. — Genard ‘Shadow’ Barr
To be honest I hope there’s not another riot, for real. — Devin Allen
I’m 17 smoking cigarettes. Why? Because I’m stressed every day that I’m gonna die. It’s either that Imma die by a stray bullet or a cop killer like Porter. — black male protester
People have to believe. But nobody in Baltimore believes. — Devin Allen
The unfettered access to guns in America is the curse of this country. — Commissioner Kevin Davis
The protest makes an impact in the community, but I feel like there are no concrete strategies attached to it. — Makayla Gilliam-Price
I’m encouraged about Baltimore. There’s been a great awakening with the DOJ coming in…It almost took this uprising to wake us up. — Chief Melvin Russell
I don’t think his death was a waste. I think Freddie was more so a martyr. — Richard Shipley Stepfather of Freddie Gray
