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This past Saturday in Baltimore, one day after charges were filed against the six police officers implicated in the arrest and death of Freddie Gray, the revolution once again descended on Baltimore.
In front of city hall, thousands gathered at a rally that had more of a celebratory vibe than the previous Saturday’s rally and march that ended in rioting. The New York-based Black Lawyers for Justice, led by Malik Zulu Shabazz, organized the event.
The news media were well represented, with every major national organization in attendance. CNN had a privileged position next to the stage and brought in its usual group of paid contributors to grapple with the deeper meaning of the big event.
Shabazz, who traded in the black paramilitary uniform of the New Black Panther Party for his lawyer’s suit two years ago, was billed as the star of the show. Preceded by a string of far left-wing speakers railing against the system and promoting revolution, Shabazz gave a long speech in which he praised Baltimore prosecutor Marilyn Mosby (“she is not to be touched”), applauded the high school students who rioted the previous Monday, and touted the street gangs, the Bloods and the Crips, as “the new generation of defenders and protectors” of black communities.
Shabazz’s usual mix of black separatism and revolution received a cool reception from the crowd, which began hemorrhaging as his speech dragged on. In order to keep the audience engaged, Shabazz frequently inserted calls for shouted rote response (“No justice…”, “What do we want?”..). The crowd was larger, younger and more local than the previous Saturday. The large representation of local college students seemed to be waiting for the “fun” part of the day – the street marching.
Shabazz and the other speakers were likely disappointed that Mosby’s charges, announced the day before the rally, took most of the wind out of their sails. A successful revolution requires disorder and fear, which the organizers had hoped to create on Saturday. With thinly veiled threats about what would happen without the criminal conviction of the police “murderers”, attorney Shabazz sowed the seeds for future unrest in Baltimore and other cities.
The marchers finally hit the streets around 5 p.m. The well-organized and peaceful marchers traveled the couple of miles from City Hall to Freddie Gray’s neighborhood. The standard chants continued throughout the march, including “No Justice, No Peace!” I suspect that the legions of idealistic college students in attendance Saturday have a different conception than the rally organizers of the “no peace” part of that.
