Rebellion in Baltimore

We were in the United States of America when violence broke out as a result of an American police officer indirectly killing Freddie Gray, a young African-American male who was unarmed. This unfortunate act demonstrated excessive and unnecessary cruelty on the part of a white police officer, who was a member of a joint patrol, upon confirming that Gray was under arrest.

The mobilization of citizenry that was caused by this deplorable event was reminiscent of the time when Martin Luther King defended the rights of Rosa Parks when she was jailed for not giving up her seat to a white passenger in Montgomery in 1954. From there, the defense of the civil rights of African-Americans grew until the famous march on Washington in 1963, in which justice and economic policies for all Americans was demanded, and which established that in July 1964, Congress would vote for the Civil Rights Act which declared any form of racial segregation, public or private, illegal.

We ourselves were witnesses to the absurd behavior of white individuals when, during the 1950s, we went to study at a military academy in Miami. An Italian and I had a black Cuban friend who was not allowed to sit in the front part of the bus. In solidarity with our friend, we decided to also sit in the rear of the bus.

We have told this little story to show the inequity of American society through the years. For that we salute the naming of young Marilyn Mosby as the state’s attorney for Baltimore, who, being African-American, studied in a white college where she was the only black person. Aside from that, she had the terrible experience of having a cousin shot by police on the balcony of her home because the police confused him for being a drug dealer.

Marilyn Mosby is the youngest district attorney of any important city in the United States, the daughter and granddaughter of police officials. Nonetheless, she severely criticized the criminal justice system for the maltreatment of African-Americans on the part of the police. She likewise complained that Michael Brown had been shot in the back by a white police officer, and that 54 days had passed since the Eric Garner incident, which the New York City medical examiner determined was a homicide. None of these cases have resulted in charges.

It was criticized that that she acted with haste in proceeding judicially against the six police officers on charges of homicide in the case of Freddie Gray. We think the contrary. If this brave woman had not acted quickly and firmly, the wave of protests that had already begun in various cities of the country would have snowballed and today she would be paying the consequences for not having acted with celerity. The residents of Baltimore, who burned 15 commercial establishments and more than 500 vehicles accepted that decision and ceased the acts of outrage, which was adequate for the other cities that had shown solidarity with Baltimore.

The racial question in the United States of America was not eradicated with the Civil War, nor was it eradicated with the ending of slavery by President Abraham Lincoln, since from time to time, situations arise like the occurrence in Baltimore. Thanks to the determined and courageous actions of Marilyn Mosby, there was no need to regret violent acts caused by these occurrences, which, although they are legally resolved, are still rooted in the white populace, especially in the Southern states.