I was involved in those mass protests on Saturday that the media claims degenerated into riots. That is incorrect. Thousands of us converged on Memorial Plaza, in front of City Hall. A small number detached themselves from the main body of us, went down to Camden Yards where a baseball game was going on, to present their protest there. Some of them--not all--some became involved in violent conflicts with the police, trashing police cars and throwing rocks. Today, which was the day of Freddy Gray's funeral, the family requested that mass protests and demonstrations cease. They did. We honored the request and organized no demos. But AFTER the funeral some angry black youths who were leaving their high schools did get involved in violent conflicts with the police, and later some looting took place. The media misled the public by saying that "protestors " attacked cops and property. That is simply false. Police have also said that gangs have teamed up against the police. In fact, Baltimore doesn't even have large gangs like those in LA or Chicago. And the few we have (mostly imported) are too small and too conflictual with each other to form some massive united front such as the paranoid racist cops imagine. As for those of us who ARE protestors, our activities will continue. We will have a mass meeting tomorrow in the area where Freddy lived. There will be meetings on May 16. The "Million Moms march" on Washington is planned for May 9. And there are all kinds of civil rights, black nationalist, and left formations planning many activities. Rioting is not part of the plan of the real protestors.. The spontaneous violence of angry youth is another matter which we somehow have to get control of. Their energies must be shifted in a more positive direction. As Huey Newton once wrote regarding the riots of the 1960s, they "are handling the resistance incorrectly." We must ORGANIZE to struggle effectively.
-Savant
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I live here in Baltimore. I've seen some of the incidents involving conflicts between young Blacks and the police. Mainly spontaneous. But I've seen no indications of any gangs teaming up on the police as paranoid cops would have us believe. In fact, Baltimore does not even have large scale gangs such as you find in L.A. or Chicago. What did happen Saturday was that a few people detached themselves from the main body of our demonstration (of about 2000--3000) went down to Camden Yards during the baseball game to protest police violence. Some of them (not all) did engage in confrontation with the cops smashing police vehicles. But today was the day of Freddy Gray's funeral. Fredericka (his sisters) requested on behalf of the family that all mass protests cease today. We honored her requests--we, that is, who are actually involved in ORGANIZED protests and demonstrations. But after the funeral some Blacks students leaving their high schools got involved in physical confrontations with the police, despite the pleas of the Gray family to cease and desist. It has mostly happened in West Baltimore, the part of the city where the family of Freddy Gray lives. It has not engulfed the whole city. And it is not the "protestors " who are involved in this, regardless of what police and media might want us to believe
-Savant
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Concernant les "emeutes " a Baltimore, J'ai vous ecrite in your private email. I sent it also to Harrisson, Blondegirl, Ekdesiladki (separately), Soulbrotherian, and my Sioux sister NotsoDivine. I was PRESENT at the mass demonstration on Saturday which the media described as having degenerated into a riot. It began assembling in the vicinity of the Gilmore Projects in Sandtown, a black inner city West Baltimore community in which Freddy Gray lived. I had attended a meeting concerning academic freedom (and corporate attacks on freedom) held at Johns Hopkins University that morning. I left about 2p.m and went to Gilmor to be with my brothers and sisters in their protests against the latest instance of police terror. When our march began from Gilmore we were about 300, with maybe thirty whites, Asians, Latinos and even Middle Eastern folk there supporting us. As we marched through Bmore---which you know is about 65% black (since the wiite flight of the 60s & 70s), our numbers grew into the thousands. By the time we arrived a Memorial Plaza (in front of City Hall) our numbers were about 2000--3000, with several hundreds of whites, Latinos, Asians and others joining us. What happened later in the evening is that a small group detached itself from the main body and entered Camden Yards during a baseball game. Among them it appears that some (not all) eventually became engaged in a physical conflict with the police. Police cars were trashed and some cops were attacked by angry black youth (the main targets of police terror). But today was the day of Freddy Gray's funeral. Fredericka (sister of Freddy) requested on behalf of the family that all demonstrations be called off while they laid Freddy to rest. I decided to return to my classes and could not get away from campus in time for the funeral. I excused any of my students who wanted to be absent from class for that the funeral. At some point AFTER the funeral, when high school students left their schools, some became engaged once more in physical combat with the police. For the most part that's what has been happening as cops are pelted with rocks and bottles by angry Black youth. Some looting has also taken place. I do not uphold this kind of activity even though I fully understand it and share the anger of those youths. But the key to victory is ORGANIZED STRUGGLE not looting or throwing rocks at the pigs. The media claims now that "protestors " are attacking the police. That is nonsense, though some of us are angry enough to do so. What we who are engaged in organized protests have done today is to honor the Gray family's requests to hold off on demonstrations out of consideration for Freddy. His sister has also pleaded with angry youth to cease such violent actions. But we protestors have even abstained from NONVIOLENT action, let alone violent actions. Hence the media reports are misleading. As for your friends, certainly your black friends are as safe or unsafe as we always are. The angry adolescents won't attack us, but the police might. I doubt that they will even attack whites, except those in police uniform. And even Black cops do not escape the rage of our youth. I told you when I first met you in Bmore in 2005 that there is a lot of pent up anger in Black America. This is just one indication of what I meant.
-Savant
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What freddy the fool has to say is irrelevant. He doesn't know anything. Indeed, he'd have to be a political and cultural illiterate if he read my posts and interprets them to mean that "the Whiteman is to blame." I leave that kind of simplistic race analysis to simpletons who are as dumb as he, though not perhaps (like he) a white British racist or a white racist Negro. At any rate, the tide of history seems to be turning my way--along the path of progressive struggle. At that British buffoon is just along for the ride.
-Savant
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