Below is a poem I made from all my favorite quotes from my trip to BaltimoreWho are your People?
"Some one help me, Someone Please help me" God Bless the child "Born in a world with strange fruit" God bless the child a community that pretends they don't have a heart God bless the child Don't look, Don't Speak, Why would you even come HERE? God bless the child Just keepin on, lookin on with Dead Eyes God Bless the child I can't see forward, only the next step, hit meal God bless the child In Thurgood and Mitchells there were many Holidays God bless the Child Why are those days like Callaway so far away God Bless the Child Be spiritually grounded or they'll eat you alive for bullshit God Bless the Child Don't say their name, Don't say their name God bless the child Freddie Gray Freddie Gray Gonna Say his name Bmore strong We're gonna rebuild blocks. block by block Bmore Strong Love your block, your family, your self Bmore strong Bring the Jazz, the swing, and the blues back Bmore Strong Going to do what we can despite the hand we're dealt Bmore strong We gotta build our community from within ourselves Bmore strong I will Dare to be a king, I am a prince with a dream Bmore strong because Failure is not an option Bmore Strong Spread the word, ring the bells, because they aren't treating us well we're all leaders for a beautiful struggle
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Below is Journal Entries I made throughout my time in BaltimoreDay 1: Thursday December 3, 2015 7am Today we are leaving Atlanta to head to Baltimore. 1:30pm-3pm We first toured the Sandtown area with David Miller, the director Dare2beaking. Our first stop was Total Healthcare, the main healthcare provider in the area. The community trusts them, and they provide a lot of services including counseling for drug addiction, family therapy, and parent training. We were able to meet one of the directors and past psychiatrists at the facility. Unfortunately her name currently slips my mind. She specializes in mitigation work in death row inmates. She explained that there was a huge need for professionals in the area. Total Healthcare is one of the 5 FQAC's in Baltimore, so it is considered an underserved health provider. Not one person has been hired since the riots; no one has come to help. She explained the challenges of providing health services to the area. Some clients who want to seek help can not make it to the clinic from the bus stop without getting high, because the area has so much bus circulation. (Keep in mind the bus stop is not even a block away). They tried to alleviate these kind of problems by providing cab services. The mental illness of the area is all from trauma. Many patients there show PTSD symptoms, even those in their toddler years, and disassociate themselves with how they feel. To survive many use stress management by denial of problems and avoiding the stigma of being weak or 'gay' at all costs. Other common patients come in with asthma, diabetes, and heart problems which are all fueled by stress trauma.She explains that a lot of the people in the streets have "dead eyes. They can't see forward: only the next step, hit, or meal". It's hard for healthcare providers there to build trust between patients that, "live in a community that acts like it doesn't have a heart...with lots of broken hearted children" We also were able to meet one of her patients who had COPD, who used mind altering chemicals since he was 12 years old. Who explains that gangs are embedded in the community: the more you kill the higher you are rise. During our interview the patient had to constantly remind the director to "not to say names" and she would kindly respond and assure him "i'm careful I'm careful" When they told us a story of how they had to kick out corruption. One wife who worked in the clinic had a lover who worked in a prisoners release system. The wife had access to healthcare databases, and her husband received government funding to do his work. It was discovered that the husband would use his position to recruit people into gangs right upon their release. The best closing statements from the patient was his advice for people who want to help, "If you aren't spiritually grounded, they're eat you alive for your bullshit" The director reminded us that "Every theory is macro, but don't forget it translate to a person, an individual! Everything translates to real people." After that we went to Jubilee Arts, a rec center that teaches arts for free in the community. What is so great about them is that they reach out to the youth, so that they can get away and build love for the arts. On top of that, they have family programs where parents can bond through their programs. They also run local, community gardens, where they hire ex felons and incarcerated peoples to work there and help the plants grow, so that they can have a job once they get out. They have a goal of rebuilding Pennsylvania Ave into what it once was, one of the biggest jazz hubs in the United States. Their mission is to restore the block..They convinced local drug dealers to leave the block of their establishment, rebuilt and furnished building that used to be destroyed, and have painted walls of love and other uplifting images on buildings in the area. 3:30p.m – 6 We visited Leaders of a Beautiful Struggle, our partner organization's headquarters and learned about their recent initiatives which is currently the Law Enforcement Officers Bill of Rights legislation (LOEBR) and Maryland 2nd Chance Act 4:30pm Meanwhile, there was a Blacklivesmatter/Freddie Gray protest at Baltimore City Clarence Mitchell Courthouse Day 2 Friday December 4, 2015 8am-10am We visited Renaissance Academy and met Principal Nikkia Rowe. We visited the academy during a sensitive time when one student was stabbed by another student. Ms. Rowe explains how she has taken the initiative to "keep the streets out of her school" and make it a space where kids will always feel safe in the community. During the riots this was the school that provided shelter and outreach to the community. Throughout the year it provides huge mentoring programs, especially those catered to black men who make up over 60% of the school. There we were also able to sit in with students in their classrooms and talk to them about college. The most interesting discussion was that the students felt that they did not experience racism Yet when the topic of police brutality was brought up, the students agreed undeniably. Ms. Rowe also explained how she did not believe in suspension. "Suspension does not solve the problem. Instead I try to ask the students what they were feeling when they did what they did and how they think the other person in the conflict feels. I never ask why. If we suspend them, that's just another way for kids to be out of school, doing whatever" She also referenced dead eyes and the prevalent PTSD symptoms in her students as the director of Total Healthcare told us earlier that day. She tries to facilitate teacher/ staff to student relationships to build trust. That's when I realized whether you are a healthcare professional or a teacher, trust was the hardest challenge to overcome. 10am-1pm We gave our research presentations at Pennsylvania Avenue Branch Enoch Pratt Public Library. We had 4 presentations on Healthcare, Education, Residential Segregation and Mass Incarceration Day 3 Saturday December 5, 2015 9:30am-10:30am We visited New Shiloh Baptist Church to learn about the program Mentoring Male Teens in the Hood by Cameron Miles. These students get extra schooling, academic support, and mentors. All of it was made by the community. This program seeks to have black men empower black boys. The boys are also taken to college visits. We were able to sit down and meet the boys, work with them, and talk to them about where we are from, what we are doing, and getting to know them. Their motto is "Failure is not an option!" 10am We later visited Baltimore Youth Initiative High School to join LBS (Leaders for a Beautiful Struggle) and Baltimore Youth advocates at a convening facilitated by a local foundation. There we listened to them and other student advocacy groups talk about their initiatives to bring attention to state officials. Here we were able to listen to Dayvon Love, one of the founders of leaders for a beautiful struggle, elaborate more on their intiative to reform Law Enforcement Bill of Rights. He critiques the current treatment of of Baltimore as a black hole "People see Baltimore resources as wasted, but people who say they're representing are actually profitting". He also explains the difficulty of getting people to take action on these issues because law enforcement is a public good.. When people are mistreated by the police, they do not have the ability to engage with the officer themselves. Officers who abuse their power and use excessive force is critiqued/ interrogated by other officers judging the trial. Dayvon calls for more transparency, and allowing the community to be the ones who decide what the reforms should be "There's a fundamental disregard for the community to address it's issues. They're often seen as ornaments in the room even when they are there" After the presentations, Dayvon explained to me that he had found some recordings of trials against police that had very ambiguous language and that he is still looking for more solid research to back up his arguments against the current state of Police Enforcement Bill of Rights 1pm West Baltimore Urban History and State Spatial Design Tour Lou Fields created the first "Freddie Gray Tour" and allowed us to be the first to be on it. We walked the streets of his neighborhood, Sandtown Winchester and saw where he was brutally arrested. One of the key questions and statements of the tour were "Who was Freddie Gray? Why'd he have to die to live? What could he have been? What influenced him? Who were his parents, grandparents, girlfriend, mentors, best friend? Did he go to church? Questions that often go unanswered. Not one newscast will tell you the day he was born." We also visited the Billie Holiday Memorial and met the artist who made the statue himself! 2pm We visit Morgan State University where Charles Dugger Kwanzaa Celebration Day 4 Sunday December 6 10:30am Attended Church services at St. James’ Episcopal Church We then gave one final presented at the church reception, at St. James Parish Center 2pm We left Baltimore to return to Emory University |
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