Kwame Rose (born Darius Kwame Rosebrough) is an American social activist, artist, writer, musician, and public speaker.
Rose gained notoriety during the 2015 Baltimore protests for his confrontation with Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera, challenging the media's representation of protestors after Freddie Gray's death. [1] Since then, he has become one of the more visible protesters in Baltimore.
Kwame was born and raised in Baltimore, MD. His passion for public speaking once earned him a full scholarship to the University of Texas at San Antonio as a member of the Debate team. As a student, he advocated for hip-hop-infused education as a means to educate the youth and give a voice to the voiceless. After the completion of his freshman year, deteriorating social conditions in his hometown of Baltimore prompted the permanent return of the young activist with a firm commitment to improve and serve his community.
In 2013, Kwame helped form the organization Brothers In Action, Inc., a mentoring group for young Black males in Baltimore City. He served on the Executive Board until recently[ when? ] stepping down to launch BE Foundation, in an effort to not only highlight Black youth but also, help them excel in pursuing their dreams and aspirations.
In 2020, Kwame joined the labor movement by working with AFSCME Council 67, under the leadership of Glen Middleton.
On April 29, 2015, Rose confronted Fox News reporter Geraldo Rivera during the protests for Freddie Gray, asking him to leave Baltimore due to what Rose called one-sided coverage of the protests and the city while ignoring Baltimore's poverty and social issues, how these issues affect citizens' lives, or the community's efforts to unite and clean up the city. On Sept. 2, Rose was arrested during protests at the courthouse. The arrest was videotaped. Some Black Lives Matter protesters insisted he was targeted for arrest. [2]
Rose was a featured interviewee in the 2017 documentary Baltimore Rising on the protests.
Geraldo Rivera is an American journalist, attorney, author, and political commentator who worked at the Fox News Channel from 2001 to 2023. He hosted the tabloid talk show Geraldo from 1987 to 1998. He gained publicity with the live 1986 TV special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults. Rivera hosted the news magazine program Geraldo at Large, hosts the occasional broadcast of Geraldo Rivera Reports. He served as a rotating co-host of The Five from 2022 to 2023.
The Baltimore Police Department (BPD) is the municipal police department of the city of Baltimore, Maryland. Dating back to 1784, the BPD, consisting of 2,935 employees in 2020, is organized into nine districts covering 80.9 square miles (210 km2) of land and 11.1 square miles (29 km2) of waterways. The department is sometimes referred to as the Baltimore City Police Department to distinguish it from the Baltimore County Police Department.
Many representatives of the news media reporting on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina became directly involved in the unfolding events, instead of simply reporting. Due to the loss of most means of communication, such as land-based and cellular telephone systems, field reporters in many cases became conduits for information between victims and authorities.
Malik Zulu Shabazz is an American attorney. He has previously served as Chairman of the New Black Panther Party, which is labeled as a hate group. As of 2013, he is the current National President of Black Lawyers for Justice, which he co-founded.
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a decentralized political and social movement that seeks to highlight racism, discrimination, and racial inequality experienced by black people, and promote anti-racism. Its primary concerns are incidents of police brutality and racially motivated violence against black people. It started following the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, and Rekia Boyd, among others. The movement and its related organizations typically advocate for various policy changes considered to be related to black liberation. While there are specific organizations that label themselves simply as "Black Lives Matter," such as the Black Lives Matter Global Network, the overall movement is a decentralized network of people and organizations with no formal hierarchy. The slogan "Black Lives Matter" itself remains untrademarked by any group. Despite being characterized by some as a violent movement, the overwhelming majority of its public demonstrations have been peaceful.
On April 12, 2015, Freddie Carlos Gray Jr., a 25-year-old African American, was arrested by the Baltimore Police Department over his legal possession of a knife. While in police custody, Gray sustained fatal injuries and was taken to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center. Gray died on April 19, 2015; his death was ascribed to injuries to his cervical spinal cord.
On April 12, 2015, Baltimore Police Department officers arrested Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old African American resident of Baltimore, Maryland. Gray's neck and spine were injured while he was in a police vehicle and he went into a coma. On April 18, there were protests in front of the Western district police station. Gray died on April 19.
A rough ride is a form of police brutality in which a handcuffed prisoner is placed in a police van or other patrol vehicle without a seatbelt, and is thrown violently about as the vehicle is driven erratically. Rough rides have been implicated in a number of injuries sustained in police custody, and commentators have speculated that the practice contributed to the death of Freddie Gray in Baltimore, Maryland, in April 2015. Throughout the U.S., police have been accused of using aggressive driving tactics to "rough suspects up", resulting in numerous injuries, and millions of dollars of damages awarded to victims and their families.
Marilyn Mosby is an American politician and lawyer who served as the State's Attorney for Baltimore from 2015 to 2023. She had gained national attention following the killing of Freddie Gray in 2015, after which she led an investigation into the officers who arrested Gray.
DeRay Mckesson is an American civil rights activist, podcaster, and former school administrator. An early supporter of the Black Lives Matter movement, he has been active in the protests in Ferguson, Missouri, and Baltimore, Maryland and on social media outlets such as Twitter and Instagram. He has also written for HuffPost and The Guardian. Along with Johnetta Elzie, Brittany Packnett, and Samuel Sinyangwe, Mckesson launched Campaign Zero, a policy platform to end police violence. He is currently part of Crooked Media and hosts Pod Save the People.
"Alright" is a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar featured on the artist's third studio album, To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). The song expresses ideas of hope amid personal struggles and features uncredited vocals in its chorus from co-producer Pharrell Williams. "Alright" was released to radio stations as the album's fourth single on June 30, 2015. Many music publications considered it among the best songs and videos of the year. "Alright" received four nominations at the 58th Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Music Video, Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song, winning the latter two. It was also nominated for a MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year.
The 2016 Baltimore mayoral election was held November 8, 2016 concurrent with the General Election. Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, the incumbent mayor, did not run for reelection. Catherine Pugh won the election on November 8, 2016, with 57% of the popular vote, and took office on December 6, 2016.
The Ferguson effect is an increase in violent crime rates in a community caused by reduced proactive policing due to the community's distrust and hostility towards police. The Ferguson effect was first proposed after police saw an increase in violence following the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. The term was coined by Doyle Sam Dotson III, the chief of the St. Louis police, to account for an increased murder rate in some U.S. cities following the Ferguson unrest. Whether the Ferguson effect really exists is subject of discussions with many published studies reporting contradicting findings concerning whether there is a change in crime rates, number of 911 calls, homicides, and proactive policing. Furthermore, the effect and influence of the portrayal of police brutality in the media is also contested.
Lamont Lilly is an American writer, political activist, and community organizer based in Durham, North Carolina. He is also a former vice-presidential candidate with the Workers World Party in the 2016 presidential election.
Baltimore Rising is a 2017 documentary on the protests in Baltimore after the death of Freddie Gray. It was created, directed, and produced by actor and filmmaker Sonja Sohn and HBO Films. It covers the death of Freddie Gray, the protests and riots immediately following, efforts to keep the peace during the unsuccessful prosecutions of the six police officers involved, as well as efforts to change policing by both the Maryland General Assembly and the US Department of Justice. It includes segments covering the perspective of Black Lives Matter protesters, community leaders, and members of the Baltimore Police Department.
Muhiyidin El Amin Moye, also known as Muhiyidin d'Baha, was a leading Black Lives Matter activist known nationally for crossing a yellow police tape line to snatch a Confederate battle flag from a demonstrator on live television in Charleston, South Carolina, in February 2017.
This is a list of protests related to the murder of George Floyd that took place in Maryland, United States.
The city of Seattle experienced protests over the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and 2021. Beginning on May 29, 2020, demonstrators took to the streets throughout the city for marches and sit-ins, often of a peaceful nature but which also devolved into riots. Participants expressed opposition to systemic racism, police brutality and violence against people of color.
Devin Allen is an American photographer, photojournalist, and activist based in Baltimore, Maryland. He gained national attention after the Freddie Gray protests in 2015, when his documentary photograph entitled "Baltimore Uprising" was published as Time magazine's May 2015 cover photo. His documentary photo of the George Floyd protests was published as Time's June 2020 cover.
Makayla Gilliam-Price is an American social activist who combats racism, police brutality, and school segregation and tracking.